
Book '33 3.5" 
Copyright}!" 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSni 



The 



Restoration Movement 



of the 



Nineteenth Century 



1^ ^^ 

Mf M. DAVIS, A. M. 

Minister Ross Avenue Christian Church, Dallas, Tex. 

Author of 

"change of Heart," "Queen Esther," 

"Elijah," "First Principles," 

and "The Eldership." 



CINCINNATI, O. 

The Standard Publishing Company 
1913 






COPYRIGHT, 1913 
THE STANDARD PUBLISHING CO. 



To all who 
and who arc 

Lalh)®i?n!sii i!®ip lEfis M®sft®!Pailln®[Qi 

this volume 
is lovingly dedicated by 



A FOREWORD 



When one appears before an audience and asks a 
hearing he should be able to give good reasons for the 
request. This is a busy age, and we have no time to 
give to the man without a message. This is true alike of 
the preacher, the politician, the philosopher and the book- 
maker; hence the author feels it his duty, before asking 
the reader to go with him through the following pages, 
to tell him why they were written. They were written: 

1. Because we need a brief history. Richardson's 
great work, ''Memoirs of A. Campbell," a classic of its 
kind, and a book with a permanent place in literature, 
has 1,248 pages. The masses will not read it because 
of its size. Only the preacher and teacher, and not all 
of them, will read it. Moore's ''Comprehensive History 
of the Disciples of Christ,'' of one volume, has 860 pages, 
and is therefore subject to the same objections. The 
demand is for a book not half so large as these, and yet 
sufficiently large to give a clear conception of this Resto- 
ration movement. 

2. Because we need a later history, Richardson's 
"Memoirs" were written in 1868, almost a half century 
in the past, and we need the wonderful story of the 
almost half century since that time. A history of the 
United States covering only half of our existence, how- 
ever valuable, must be supplemented by one of a later 
date. 

3. Because of ignorance concerning our mission. 
Like every new movem^ent in the history of the world, 
this one has been misunderstood and misrepresented. 



vi FOREWORD 

Good men have failed to see our fundamental purpose, 
and, with clear consciences have condemned us. And in 
our own ranks we have been grossly misunderstood, 
which has greatly aggravated and strengthened the oppo- 
sition without. Surely no good man with a clear con- 
ception of our pica can oppose it, for it is no more and 
no less than a plea for the restoration of the New Testa- 
ment church in name, in ordinances and in life. This 
book aims to so blend brevity and fullness as to make it 
alike profitable to the busy outsider seeking information 
concerning us, and as a text-book in the home and in 
the schools for the education of our own people. It 
briefly sketches the church from the beginning at Philippi 
and Pentecost, and through New Testament history, and 
the bloody ages which followed, and through the period 
of the reformations which culminated in this Restora- 
tion movement. And it closes with "Our Position,'' by 
Isaac Errett, the best brief statement ever made of our 
plea. 

The author is painfully conscious of the defects of his 
work — more so than any reader can possibly be — and yet 
he believes it has sufficient virtues to justify its publica- 
tion, and so he sends it forth with the prayer that the 
Father may make it a blessing to every one who reads it. 

Dallas, Tex., Sept. i, 1913. 



CONTENTS 



Chapter I. — The Early Church. pages 
Providential Preparation — Pentecost — Samaria — P a u 1— 
Cornelius — Antioch — Jerusalem Council — Prosperity i 

Chapter II. — Trials and Triumphs. 
Jewish Sects — ^Jewish Persecution — Pagan Persecution — 
A New Ally — The Apologists — Victory — Ballard's Picture — 

Christian Schools 12 

Chapter III. — The Dark Ages — I. 

Constantine — Union of Church and State — Development 
of the Pope — Centralized Power — The Inquisition — Warning. 20 

Chapter IV. — The Dark Ages — II. 

The Vallences or Valdenses — Peter Waldo — The Paul- 

icians and Albigenses — The Waldenses — Colonel Beckwith.. 29 

Chapter V. — Reformers. 

Wyclif — Huss — Savonarola — L u t h e r — K n o x — Calvin — 

Wesley 42 

Chapter VI. — The Haldanes. 
Military Life — Mothers — Missions — Denominationalism — 

x\lexander Campbell 51 

Chapter VII. — Religious Conditions. 
Human Creeds — The Clergy — Bible Ignorance — Total De- 
pravity — Conversion — Courage and Method of the Campbells. 59 

Chapter VIII. — Thomas Campbell. 
Contrasted with Son — Ancestry — Religious Nature — De- 
cides to Preach — Aliorey — As a Preacher — Divisions — Mar- 
riage — Hears Haldane — To America 69 

Chapter IX. — Alexander Campbell. 
Date of Birth — Anecdote of the Cow — A Farmer — Con- 
version — Catholicism — Divisions — Shipwrecked — Decides t o 
Preach — University of Glasgow — The Haldanes — Breaks with 

Denominationalism "JJ 

vii 



viii CONTENTS 

Chapter X. — Old Seed in New Soil. 
Thomas Campbell in America — First Work and First 
Trouble — The Man — Condemned by Synod — Breaks with De- 
nominationalism — Great Address — Christian Association — 

First Meeting-house 86 

Chapter XL — The Declaration and Address. 

The Declaration — The Address — The Appendix 94 

Chapter XII. — Father and Son Together in America. 
The Meeting — Special Bible Study — A. Campbell's First 
Sermon — Pittsburgh Synod — Son Defends P'ather — Change 
in Leadership — Brush Run Church 102 

Chapter XIII. — Settling the Baptismal Question. 
A. Campbell's Marriage — A Revolutionary Baby — The 
Campbells Immersed — Their Example Contagious — Progress 
— Reasons for Not Being a "Party Man." ill 

Chapter XIV. — Into the Baptist Church. 
Bitter Foes and Ardent Friends — An Example — ^Joins 
Redstone Association — Increasing Popularity — Debates with 
Walker and McCalla — Sermon on the Law — ^Joins Mahoning 
Association — The Christian Baptist — The Name "Bethany.". 118 

Chapter XV. — Out of the Baptist Church. 
Wonderful Prosperity — Conversion of P. S. Fall, "Rac- 
coon" John Smith, John T. Johnson, etc. — Walter Scott — Mr. 
Campbell's Solicitude — Baptist Historians — The Campbells 

Reluctantly Separate — Causes of Separation 127 

Chapter XVI. — Four Important Events. 
The Living Oracles — Campbell and Owen Debate — Mor- 
monism — Millennial Harbinger — The "Oracles" Burned — 

Owen and the Ox 137 

Chapter XVII. — The Stone Movement. 

Barton W. Stone — Bound by Calvinism — Liberty by the 

Bible — W o n d e r f u 1 Revivals — Cane Ridge — Trouble with 

Synod — Springfield Presbytery — Signal Honor — Shakerism. . 144 

Chapter XVIII. — Union of the Followers of Campbell 

AND Stone. 
First Meeting of Campbell and Stone — Conferences — 
Speeches of Smith and Stone — Union Consummated — The 
Two Peoples Contrasted — Blending Streams — Power of Love 152 



CONTENTS ix 

Chapter XIX. — Walter Scott. 
Early Life — Comes to America — Conversion — Contrasted 
with Campbell — Great Preacher — Makes Campbell Shout 
— Great Evangelist — Anecdotes — Writer — Campbell's Tribute 

to Him 159 

Chapter XX. — Smith and Richardson. 
Smith's Early Life — Calvinism — Waiting for a Call — 
Children Burned — Joins Restoration Movement — Great 
Preacher and Evangelist — Richardson : Early Life — Conver- 
sion — Helper of Campbell — Author — Teacher — Editor 167 

Chapter XXL — Clear Thinking and W^onderful Success. 
Theory of Union Tested — Aylett Raines — Faith and 
Opinion as Seen by Campbell, Stone and Errett — Success and 

Its Causes — Eighteen Heroes 177 

Chapter XXIL — Four Debates. 
Controversy Unavoidable — Debate with Walker — Debate 
with McCalla — Debate v/ith Purcell — A Thrilling Incident — 
Debate with Rice — Campbell's Opinion of Modern Would- 
be Leaders 186 

Chapter XXIII. — Educational. 
Bethany — Transylvania — Bible College — Hiram — Eureka — 
Christian University — Drake — Texas Christian University — 
Johnson Bible College — Phillips — Cotner — Virginia Christian 
College — Female Colleges — Bible Chairs — Phillips Bible In- 
stitute 196 

Chapter XXIV. — Organization. 
American Christian Missionary Society — Christian 
Woman's Board of Missions — Foreign Christian Missionary 
Society — National Benevolent Association — Church Exten- 
sion — Ministerial Relief 205 

Chapter XXV. — Controversial. 
Publication Society — The Civil War — The Communion 

Question — The Organ — Federation — Biblical Criticism 213 

Chapter XXVI. — Errett and McGarvey. 
Errett : Early Life — Finding Himself — A Good Man — 
Courage — An Ideal Leader. McGarvey: Early Life — In 
Bethany College — Honor Student — Courage — Bible Critic — 
Preacher — Writer — Teacher 224 



X CONTENTS 

Chapter XXVII. — Independent Missions. 
England — Canada — Australia — Yotsuya Mission — Austra- 
lian Missions — Hors de Rome Mission 234 

Chapter XXVIII. — Russia and Germany. 
Sweeney and Patmont Sent to Russia — St. Petersburg — 

Moscow — Warsaw — Germany 243 

Chapter XXIX. — Centennial Convention. 
A Noble Impulse — Attendance — Convention Sermons — 
Fraternal Greetings — Launching the "Oregon" — Veterans' 

Camp-fire — The Great Communion Service 255 

Chapter XXX. — Retrospect. 
The Time — The Place — Bible Teaching — Deity of Jesus 
— Faith and Opinion — Faith Not Doctrinal, but Personal — 
Rule of Faith and Practice — Conversion — Evangelism — The 

Holy Spirit — Bible Schools — Christian Union 269 

Chapter XXXL — Prospect. 
A Glorious Picture — Dangers : i. Crystalization. 2. Com- 
promise. 3. False Tests of Fellowship. 4. Ignoring True 
Tests of Fellowship. 5. The Childless Church. Duties : i. 
Advertisement. 2. Indoctrination. 3. Co-operation. 4. Con- 
secration. 5. Loyalty 283 



APPENDIX. 
Our Position. 

(The best brief statement of the doctrinal position of the 
Restoration movement ever written is "Our Position," by Isaac 
Errett, founder Christian Standard.) 

Chapter I. — That in Which We Agree with the Parties 
Known as Evangelical. 

Chapter 11. — That in Which We Disagree with Them All. 

Chapter III. — That in Which We Differ from Some, but Not 
from All. 

Chapter IV. — Our Attitude on the Union Question. 

Chapter V. — Objections to Our Position. 



The Restoration Movement 
of the Nineteenth Century 

CHAPTER I. 

The Early Church. 

Providential Preparation — Pentecost — Samaria — Paul — 
Cornelius — Antioch — Jerusalem Council — Prosperity, 

The mushroom springs up in a single night, but it re- 
quires centuries to mature the oak. The church through 
which the world was to be saved was to accomplish 
her great work despite the greatest difficulties, hence she 
was not the product of a single year, or a single century, 
but the matured result of four thousand years. When 
man was banished from Eden because of sin the promise 
of salvation went with him in his lonely wanderings. 
This promise, though little understood, doubtless often 
cheered him in his hours of sadness. Soon the ark was 
prepared, and it defied the fury of the flood and saved 
all those who fled to it for safety. Abram is called away 
from his home to become the father of the faithful and 
the friend of God. Moses is raised up as the leader 
and lawgiver of Israel, and the chosen families are or- 
ganized into a nation, which is secluded in the Holy Land 
and trained for its peculiar mission. The tabernacle 
and temple, with their bloody sacrifices and rich ritual- 
ism, are constantly pointing to the Christ on the cross. 
Prophets and poets, with glowing picture and stirring 



2 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

song, keep aflame the fires of hope. John the Baptist, 
the picturesque and heroic herald of the King, with 
flaming message, announces the approach of his Master. 

Then follows the personal ministry of the Messiah — 
a ministry of marvelous power, wisdom and tenderness 
— which is now nearing its close. With his disciples the 
Lord is in the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, and he asks 
them as to the impression he has made on the world. 
They answer: ''Some say thou art John the Baptist; 
some, Elijah; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the 
prophets.'^ Bringing the question nearer home, he asked, 
''But whom say ye that I am?'' And Simon Peter an- 
swered and said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the 
living God.'' And seeing that at last they had grasped 
the true conception of his mission to the earth, he said, 
"Blessed art thou, Simon, son of Jona, for flesh and 
blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father who 
is in heaven. And I say unto thee. Thou art Peter, and 
upon this rock I will build m^y church, and the gates of 
Hades shall not prevail against it" (Matt. i6: 13-18). 

We call attention to two fundamental and kindred 
clauses in this great passage: the foundation and per- 
petuity of the church. The foundation was not Peter — 
poor, frail Peter — as many would have us believe, but 
it was the rocklike doctrine of his Messiahship: "Thou 
art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Paul, the 
greatest teacher of the apostolic college, so understood 
it, for he says, "Other foundation can no man lay than 
that is laid, which is Jesus Christ" (i Cor. 3: 11). And 
as to the perpetuity of the church, it is declared in the 
phrase, "The gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." 

The object of this volume is to trace briefly the his- 
tory of this church from that day to the present time. 

The world at this tim.e was ripe and ready for the 



THE EARLY CHURCH 3 

coming of the Christ and the organization of the church. 
The Saviour appeared in ''the fulness of time" (Gal. 4: 
4) ; not a moment too soon, not a moment too late. Man 
often strikes too soon or too late, but not so God. All 
things were ready; and so strikingly so that it is im- 
possible to regard them as mere coincidences. The only 
reasonable conclusion is that he had prepared the world 
for the coming of his Son, the upbuilding of the king- 
dom and the spread of the gospel. 

This was clearly seen among the Jews. All their sac- 
rifices acknowledging defilement and prefiguring purity 
looked to ''the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of 
the world." Their dispersion had carried them to the 
ends of the earth with their doctrine of the one God, and 
they had a synagogue in almost every important city in 
the world. Though a conquered people under Roman 
rule, they had sufficient freedom to spread the truth, but 
were so restrained by the strong arm of the law as to 
modify their persecutions. The bitter rivalry of Phari- 
sees and Sadducees weakened them, and so tended to the 
same end. 

It was equally manifest among the Romans. Rome 
was called the "Mistress of the World." From her seven 
hills she ruled all that part of the world bordering on 
the Mediterranean Sea. Peace v/as almost universal, and 
life and property had never been so secure. Rome was 
the great road-builder of her time. She needed good 
roads for her conquering legions ; and these became high- 
ways for the soldiers of the cross. Ships of large dimen- 
sions had been established on the Mediterranean that 
grain might be shipped from Alexandria and Antioch, to 
feed the multitudes at home ; and these also were made 
to bear the bread of life to hungry souls. 

It was also visible among the Greeks. Her language 



4 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

was the common medium of communication. It was not 
spoken by every one, but it was spoken everywhere. 
Thus the apostles, without learning a new language, 
could speak and write to all lands. No single item of the 
divine preparation was more useful than this. Greek 
philosophy, in many cases, in showing the absurdity of 
heathen beliefs, had paved the way to faith in the Christ. 

''He comes,'' says Isaac Errett, 'Svhen the world is 
waiting for him with eager expectancy; . . . when the 
Roman civilization is sinking in its dotage, and with 
its departing the last hope of success in solving the prob- 
lem of human regeneration; when human religions and 
philosophies have lost their inspiration, and over the 
ruins of ancient systems a shuddering skepticism dis- 
mally broods ; when, from all quarters of the globe, men 
are looking with vague desire to the land of Judea for 
deliverance, and the wretched prodigals from all lands 
are sighing for a return to the Father's house." And 
Vedder well asks, ''Who can resist the cumulative evi- 
dence that the providence of God marshaled the events 
of the world, and brought about these conditions that 
so powerfully promoted the preaching of the glad tidings 
of salvation through Christ?" 

After the conversation at Philippi the Lord spoke 
plainly of his death. And soon he was arrested, tried 
by the Sanhedrin, and condemned for blasphemy; after 
which he was tried by Pilate, the Roman procurator, and 
crucified on a charge admitted by his judge to be false.. 
On the third day he rose from the dead, and at intervals 
during forty days he appeared to his disciples, and then 
ascended to heaven, having commanded them to wait for 
power from on high, when they were to preach through- 
out the whole world to all men, to Gentiles as well as 
Jews. 



THE EARLY CHURCH 5 

Obedient to their Master, the disciples waited in Jeru- 
salem until Pentecost, when the promised power came. 
Pentecost was the fiftieth day after the Sabbath of the 
Passover week, and came on our Lord's Day. This feast 
was known as ''the feast of weeks,'' and ''the feast of 
harvest," and "the day of firstfruits." But after the 
conquest of Palestine by Alexander and the introduction 
of the Greek language it came to be known as Pentecost 
(fiftieth), because it was the fiftieth day. This was one 
of the three annual feasts which all male Jews were re- 
quired to attend. 

After the descent of the Spirit the apostles were new 
men. Their ignorance gave place to light, their doubts 
to certainty, and their fear to courage. And Peter 
preached the first full gospel sermon ever heard by men, 
vvdien three thousand sturdy Jev/s, with the blood of the 
Lord upon their hands, gave to him their hearts, and the 
church was organized (Acts 2: 1-47). 

In his last interview with the disciples the Lord gave 
them the order in which they were to proceed w4th their 
w^ork : Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost part 
of the earth (Acts 1:8). The enmity between the Jew 
and the Samaritan was intense, and it was cherished by 
the Jew for three reasons : The Samaritan was of a mon- 
grel race ; he repudiated all of the Old Testament except 
the Pentateuch; and he had a rival temple on Mount 
Gerizim. This sect, of about one hundred and fifty 
people, still exists. They live in the valley of Shechem 
between Mounts Gerizim and Ebal, and their city is 
Nablus. They have a high priest, and a copy of the Pen- 
tateuch, claimed to be the oldest in the w^orld. When 
the church in Jerusalem was scattered abroad by perse- 
cution "they went everywhere preaching the v/ord," and 
Philip found his way to Samaria, where he preached 



6 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

Christ unto them ; and many beheved and were baptized, 
both men and women. This news, when it reached 
Jerusalem, naturally excited apprehension and alarm. 
Up to this time none but orthodox Jews had been 
received into the church; and few, if any, of the dis- 
ciples understood that Christianity was a world-wide 
religion, without reference to racial differences. They 
thought all men were to come to Christ, but they were 
to come through a Judean way. Naturally, there- 
fore, the apostolic college sent two of its members to 
inquire into the conduct of Philip. And when this com- 
mittee, composed of Peter and John, had made inves- 
tigation, they not only sanctioned the work of Philip, 
but as they returned to Jerusalem they ^'preached the 
gospel in many villages of the Samaritans" (Acts 8: i- 
25). This is the first breach in ''the middle wall of par- 
tition" which so long had separated the Jew from the 
rest of the world. 

The original apostles were uneducated men, and since 
Christianity was for all classes, the Lord, in an extra- 
ordinary manner, called Saul (afterwards Paul) into his 
service, as one born out of due time. He was a scholar, 
able to cope with Jewish teachers and pagan philosophers 
on their own ground. He was also a genius of the high- 
est order, and a man of dauntless courage. He was a 
great preacher, a gifted writer, a peerless leader, and 
his character was without blemish. He was to the infant 
church what Moses was to Israel — her leader, her law- 
giver and her emancipator. Like Saul, Israel's first king, 
he towered head and shoulders above his fellows. 

He had led the persecutions in Jerusalem and scat- 
tered the disciples like chaff before the wind; he had 
held the clothes of others while rougher men stoned 
Stephen to death; and he was on his way to Damascus 



THE EARLY CHURCH 7 

to continue his deadly work, when the Lord appeared to 
him, showed him the error of his way, and led him into 
the new life (Acts 9: 1-22). 

Prejudice is a powerful foe of truth. When under 
its influence we can easily see that which is not, but are 
blind to that w^hich is. Peter heard the Lord (Mark 16: 
15, 16) tell them to preach the gospel to all men; with 
John he had full knowledge of the story of Samaria ; and 
he had doubtless heard of the conversion of the eunuch 
(Acts 8 : 26-39) ; and yet it required a miracle to convince 
him that Cornelius, a Roman soldier of exceptionally 
good character, should be received into the church. He 
was a great and good man, but his Jewish prejudice 
blinded him to the truth. In order to remove his preju- 
dice, the Lord, while Peter was on a housetop, praying 
and hungry, had a sheet filled with all manner of four- 
footed beasts of the earth and wild beasts and creeping 
things and fowls of the air, to descend upon him, and He 
commanded, ''Rise, Peter; kill and eat. But Peter said, 
Not so. Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is 
common or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again 
the second time. What God hath cleansed, that call not 
thou common" (Acts 10:9-15). In the meantime Cor- 
nelius, by special revelation (vs. 1-8), had been instructed 
to send for Peter, who would tell him what he should do. 
And when the tvv^o met, and Peter heard the story of 
Cornelius, his prejudice took its flight and he said, ''Of 
a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons : 
but in every nation he that feareth him and v/orketh 
righteousness, is accepted with him'' (vs. 34, 35). And 
he commanded him and his household to "be baptized 
in the name of the Lord." 

Naturally this matter created commotion among the 
Jewish Christians, and when Peter returned to Jerusa- 



S THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

lem they contended with him, saying, 'Thou wentest in 
to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them" (Acts 
11:1-3). But when Peter rehearsed the m^atter from 
the beginning, they held their peace, and glorified God, 
saying, ''Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted re- 
pentance unto life" (vs. 4, 18). 

Much has been gained, but not all. The ''middle wall 
of partition" again has been breached, and henceforth to 
deny a Gentile admission to the church will be a step 
backward. The church will never disavow the action of 
Peter, to whom the keys w^ere given, and who has now 
opened the door of the church to the Gentiles as he did 
to the Jews at Pentecost. An element in the church, 
still blinded by prejudice, rekindled the fires of opposition 
and made much trouble, which trouble never died as long 
as this element lived. 

Antioch, the rich capital of Syria, situated on the 
Orontes River, was one of the leading cities of the 
w^orld, and the gateway of the East. From the founding 
of the Greek Empire in Asia to the building of Con- 
stantinople, Antioch was the Eastern metropolis. It had 
a population of a half million, and was beautified by 
both God and man. The site was one of the most pic- 
turesque in the world, and it abounded in splendid public 
works and works of art, built and selected by the Seleucid 
princes as the royal residence of their dynasty. It was 
the most cosmopolitan city of the world. Here all races 
mixed and mingled like the waters of the sea. The soil 
was very different from that of Jerusalem, and if Chris- 
tianity could once get a foothold here it would reach all 
nations at a single place. "It was on the shores of the 
Orontes," says Renan, "that the religious fusion of races 
dreamed of by Jesus, became a reality." Important as 
was the conversion of Cornelius, it perhaps was not more 



THE EARLY CHURCH 9 

so in the fate of the new rehgion than was its intro- 
duction in this great city. 

Our best blessings often come in disguise. The 
flower has to be crushed and gold has to pass through 
the furnace before the sweetness of the one and the value 
of the other can be realized. Persecution following the 
death of Stephen resulted in the conversion of Samaria, 
the salvation of the eunuch, the opening of the door of 
the church to the Gentiles, and now it leads to the un- 
furling of the standard of Prince Jesus in the city of 
Antioch, constituting the first vigorous onslaught of the 
church upon the Gentile world. 

The story of the founding of this church (Acts ii: 
19-26) is that while Philip w^as preaching in Samaria 
and Saul in Damascus and Arabia, and Peter in Lydda, 
Joppa and Csesarea, others went north to Phoenicia, 
Cyprus and Antioch, and at the last place ''a great num- 
ber believed, and turned unto the Lord.'' And when 
Jerusalem heard of it she sent Barnabas, who exhorted 
the converts to cleave to the Lord. Soon he, seeing the 
importance of the field, departed to Tarsus and brought 
Saul, and the two spent a year v/ith the young church, 
which became the second capital of the Christian world, 
says McGarvey, and the missionary headquarters of the 
apostolic age. 

Here the disciples were first called '^Christians.'' This 
being the first mixed church, composed of a great variety 
of people, it was necessary to have a name unobjection- 
able, and all-inclusive, and so this was given them. The 
church, the bride of the Lamb, having cleared the nar- 
rows of racial prejudice, and found her way out on the 
broad sea of life, takes the name of her husband (2 Cor. 
11:2). As we follov/ her fortunes in this wider world, 
we wonder what would have been her fate, and vvdiat 



10 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

name she would have worn, had she remained within the 
narrow Hmits of Judaism. 

The old trouble manifests itself again. '^Certain men 
who came down from Judea taught, Except ye be cir- 
cumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved" 
(Acts io:i). Paul and Barnabas endeavored to stay 
the influence of this old error, but failed, when it was 
decided to refer it to the apostles and elders at Jeru- 
salem. 

This was a time of momentous importance. The es- 
sential issue was as to the perpetuation of the law of 
Moses in the church, and the same issue, strange to say, 
has continued to this day. The questions of infant bap- 
tism in the place of circumcision, and the Sabbath con- 
troversy, are samples of its modern-day existence. But 
after a full and free investigation it was decided that it 
was not necessary to obey the law in order to salvation 
(Acts 15:22-29), and Judas and Silas were sent out 
among the churches to acquaint them with this decision. 

But this was not the end. It was only a lull in the 
battle. Their guns for the present were silenced, but 
long after (Gal. 2:4) they were heard again, when Paul 
characterizes them as ''false brethren" trying to rob the 
church of her liberty in Christ and bring her into bond- 
age. 

But the success of the gospel was wonderful. The 
disciples believed it, and lived it, and preached it with 
burning zeal. The meat and drink of these consecrated 
heroes and heroines was to tell lost men of the salvation 
in the Saviour. In season and out of season, in public 
and in private, to great and to small, they told the sweet 
story of the cross. The first sermon won three thousand, 
another five thousand, and soon Luke ceases to enumer- 
ate them, but speaks of them as great multitudes, and a 



THE EARLY CHURCH 11 

great company of the priests became obedient to the 
faith, and it is supposed that the Book of Acts records 
the conversion of not less than five hundred thousand. 
Paul, not later than A. D. 65 or 70, said that the gospel 
had then been preached to every creature under heaven 
(Col. 1:23). 



CHAPTER 11. 

Trials and Triumphs. 

Jezmsh Sects — Jewish Persecution — Pagan Persecution — 

A New Ally — The Apologists — Victory — Ballard's 

Picture — Christian Schools. 

The time to make or mar manhood is in its infancy. 
Satan knows this, and he always acts in harmony with 
his knowledge. He is the foe of the marriage vow and 
the enemy of childhood. The same principle is true in 
regard to all organizations and enterprises of men, and 
so we find him now trying to destroy the church in her 
infancy. In this effort he used both the sword and the 
pen. 

The first conflict was with Judaism, which was di- 
vided into three sects: the Sadducees, Pharisees and 
Essenes. The Sadducees originated with Zadoc, about 
250 years before Christ. They were not so numerous 
as the Pharisees, but were aristocratic, wealthy and in- 
fluential. They rejected tradition, but strove to restore 
Mosaism. They did not believe in the immortality of 
the soul, and rejected the doctrine of angels and the 
resurrection. The Essenes, the smallest sect, originated 
about 150 B. C. Their teachings were a mixture of the 
Jewish and Persian. They held the sun to be a living 
being, and taught that virtue and vice were inherent in 
matter. They were monastic in life, and believed in a 
community of goods. The Pharisees, the largest sect, 
originated about B. C. 140. They were the teachers of 
the law and the friends of tradition, but narrow and 

bigoted. The Pharisees and Sadducees, sometimes 
12 



TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS 13^ 

singly and sometimes combined, were the bitter enemies 
of the Christ and Iiis church. The skepticism of one 
and the disappointment of the other tended to make 
them enemies of Christianity. 

Soon after the organization of the church, ''Stephen, 
full of faith and power, did great miracles and wonders 
among the people" (Acts 6:8), and then made an un- 
answerable argument in favor of his Lord, which so 
embittered them that they stoned him to death (Acts 
5:57-60). And several years later Herod ''stretched 
forth his hand to afflict certain of the church; and he 
killed James the brother of John with the sword. And 
because he saw^ it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further 
to take Peter also" (Acts 12: 1-3). So bitter was this 
persecution that the Christians fled for refuge to Pella 
beyond the Jordan. And Paul, like his Master, was 
hounded by them wherever he went ; and Anally, when 
their power was beginning to wane, he was turned over 
to the Romans, who at last beheaded him. (See Acis 
21 : 27-40 ; 26 : 30-32 ; 27 : 1-44.) 

But Christianity soon spread beyond the boundaries 
of Judaism, and became a national question in the pagan 
world. In Rome, however, they were at first regarded 
as a new Jewish sect; and when, about the middle of the 
first century, there was trouble among the Jews, the 
emperor, Claudius, banished both Jews and Christians. 

But their cup of iniquity was full, and they had to 
drink it. In A. D. 65 they rebelled against the Romans, 
and Titus was sent against them, and after a long and 
bloody resistance he captured and destroyed their city 
and beautiful temple in the year 70. Most of the people 
were slain, and the rest were made slaves ; the Jews 
ceased to be a nation, and the bigoted and bitter Judaiz- 
ing party came to an end. 



14 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

But Christianity, because of its spirituality, was as 
unwelcome to the pagan as to these Jewish persecutors. 
A religion of sight, and sense, and one which gave large 
liberty to the life of the flesh, was what they wanted, 
and they would brook none other; and so, when its true 
character was discovered, new persecutions began. 
Nero, that monster of cruelty, represented well the spirit 
of the opposition. He set fire to Rome, and for nine 
days the flames raged furiously. He charged the crim.e 
to the Christians, and was brutal and barbarous in his 
punishment of them. Some of them he had covered 
with pitch and burned alive, and others sewed up in the 
skins of wild animals and thrown to the dogs. 

They were accused of almost every crime: disloyalty 
and immorality of every hue. All great calamities, such 
as earthquakes, drouths, pestilences and military re- 
verses, were laid at their door. A popular proverb with 
them was: ''Deus non phiit — due ad Christianos'' ('Tt 
does not rain — lead us against the Christians''). Tertul- 
lian, expressing the same thought, said: 'Tf the Tiber 
overflows its banks, if the Nile does not water the fields, 
if the clouds refuse rain, if the earth shake, if famine 
or storms prevail, the cry always is, 'Pitch the Christians 
to the lions.' " 

From the time of Nero, A. D. 64, to A. D. 313, when 
Constantine came to the rescue of the Christians, the 
persecutions were on a large scale, and they were fierce 
and cruel almost beyond description. These helpless 
disciples were bound in chains of red-hot iron; they were 
suspended in the air by iron hooks in their flesh ; limbs 
were torn from their bodies ; eyes were scooped from 
their sockets. They were burned at the stake, beheaded, 
crucified, buried alive and fed to the lions. But in the 
midst of all this, when a sino;-le word of recantation 



TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS IS 

would have brought rehef, men, women and children 
vied with each other in heroic sufferings with their Lord 
and rejoiced in his name. 

How many perished during this time we will not 
know until the books are opened at the judgment day, 
but probably they numbered a hundred thousand or more. 

By the beginning of the second century it was clear 
to the thoughtful among these enemies that the sv/ord 
alone would never overcome Christianityc It was like 
fighting fire with a flail — it scattered the sparks over a 
wider area; and so the pen v/as called in as an ally, and 
for two hundred years these combined powers waged the 
war. But the progress of Christianity could not be 
stayed. The stroke of the sword was met by non- 
resistance and ceaseless evangelization; and, as in the 
beginning, those ''scattered abroad went everywhere 
preaching the word." And in literature there arose mas-^ 
ter minds who so boldly arrayed the facts and philosophy 
of the case that the pagan temple and its worship were 
shaken to the very foundations. 

Both Greek and Roman Vs^riters rushed into the con- 
flict with courage and confidence. Tacitus said Christ 
founded a little sect, whose teachings were filled with 
deadly superstition, and whose founder died between 
thieves at the hands of Pontius Pilate. Juvenal sneered 
at the whole thing, especially their reverential gaze into 
the heavens. Lucian rejected all religions, and Chris- 
tianity was dumped in a common vortex as needless and 
worthless. He called Christ a magician, and made sport 
of the story of Jonah, of Christ walking on the waves, 
and of John's description of the New Jerusalem. Celsus 
was strong and bitter. His Platonic philosophy had led 
him to believe in a chief deity, providence and the im- 
mortality of the soul. But he seem.ed to lose sight of 



16 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

these cardinal principles in his assault upon the Christian 
system. He attacked the Old Testament, but his main 
onslaught was against the character and career of the 
Christ. Porphyry contended that the pagan world fur- 
nished magical characters superior to the character of 
Jesus, and that the gospel story was full of irreconcilable 
contradictions. 

These leaders were followed by a large number of 
weaker men, and the battle covered the whole field. All 
forms of literature — logic, satire, fiction and poety — 
were used in the attack, but in vain. Error can not suc- 
cessfully compete with Truth, and Right must ultimately 
overcome Wrong. 

The reply to these attacks is called the apology , and 
the writers apologists. This is because the Greek word 
apologia meant a work of resistance. But the work of 
these men meant much more than a defense. They not 
only met the arguments of their enemies, but they cap- 
tured their works and weapons and followed them in hot 
pursuit. The apologists, according to the language used, 
were divided into two classes — Greek and Latin. The 
Greeks belonged mostly to the second century, and their 
work was largely defensive. The Latins belonged in the 
main to the third century, and they were aggressive. 
Like the true Roman soldier, they were not content to 
hold the fort, but would drive the enemy from the field. 
They would ''carry the war into Africa." 

Among the Greek apologists we find Aristides proved 
that Christianity was superior to all the best systems in 
the classic world, and therefore should supersede them 
all. Justin showed that Christians were loyal citizens, 
that pagan philosophy was full of falsehood, and that 
the Scriptures were the only source of truth. Tatian 
showed the absurd origin of the Greek religion. Clement 



TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS 17 

showed the utter emptiness of all pagan philosophy, 
Origen wrote eight books, covering substantially the 
same ground covered by Clement. 

Among the Latins, Tertullian stands first. His 
"Apologeticus," written about the year 200, is the mas- 
terpiece of its kind in the early church. He was brilliant 
and powerful. He exalted the supernatural in the Christ, 
and he showed that persecution was a blessing in dis- 
guise. Cyprian wrote fifty years later, and his exposure 
of idolatry was merciless and unanswerable. Arnobius, 
in 297, surpassed all others in his use of the miracles as 
a basis of argument. 

When the long, hard battle was over, none could 
doubt that the Christians were victorious. Wordsworth's 
description of the overthrow of the Druids of Britain, 

"They came — they spread — the weak, the suffering, hear; 
Receive the faith and in the hope abide," 

may well be applied here. The same is true of Tertul- 
lian's defiant declaration addressed to the whole Roman 
world: ''We are of yesterday, yet we have filled your 
empire, your cities, your islands, your castles, your 
towns, your assemblies, your very camps, your tribes, 
your companies, your palaces, your senate. Your forum 
and your temples alone are left you.'' And the dying 
words of Julian are not more dramatic than true : ''Thou, 
O Galilean, hast conquered, after all!" 

Ballard puts the case truthfully and forcefully: "If 
we can imagine a lion, a tiger and a wolf uniting in 
desperate effort to destroy a lamb, and failing, we 
should have but a fair parallel to that which actually 
happened at the commencement of the Christian era. 
The practical alliance between Jewish hate, Roman might 
and Greek subtlety against the infant Christian faith is 
absolutely without parallel in history/' 



18 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

If we would have further proof of this great victory, 
it is found in the existence of the Christian schools of 
that day. Christianity is a child of the light. It did not 
sneak into the world between two days, but came boldly 
at noon on its brightest day. ''This thing was not done 
in a corner/' declared Paul in his speech before Agrippa. 
It flourishes best in the light, and is always the friend of 
the school. The Jews had their schools of the prophets, 
and the Christians must have theirs. Jewish and pagan 
thought could be met only by a cultured ministry. This 
was a day when every inch of ground was contested 
by a brilliant foe, and the man to succeed had to know 
not only the truth he would defend, but the error he 
would assail; for he who knows but one side of a case 
does not know that. 

As early as the middle of the second century there 
were three great schools, the most important being in 
Alexandria. When Athens lost her literary prestige, 
this city became the center of the philosophical culture 
of the world. For two hundred years the currents of 
thought from the East and West met and mingled here, 
and Alexandria was the first field of the battle between 
Christianity and pagan learning, with victory on the side 
of the Christ. The school was founded by Pantaenus, 
and numbered among its friends Clement, Origen and 
Dionysius. 

The school of Asia Minor was unlike that in Alex- 
andria in that it had not so much a geographical center 
as a group of theological teachers and writers scattered 
throughout the land. Much of Paul's ministry was spent 
there, which accounts for the general activity of Chris- 
tian thought throughout its borders. Among the leaders 
at this time were Polycarp, Papias and Irenseus. 

The African school was located at Carthage, and this 



TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS 19 

city, rather than Rome, gave color and form to Latin 
Christianity. Among its leading spirits were TertuUian, 
Commodianus and Arnobius. 

The influence of these schools can never be told, for 
it reached the uttermost limits of the Christian world. 
Strong men from the most distant regions came to them, 
drank in their spirit, and then returned home, or entered 
new fields to tell the story of the Cross to dying men. 



CHAPTER III. 

The Dark Ages — I. 

Constantine — Union of Church and State — Development 
of the Pope — Centralized Power — The Inquisi- 
tion — A Word of Warning. 

*'The Dark Ages" is a familiar phrase, but not very 
definite as to duration. It is generally made to include 
the thousand years between A. D. 400 and A. D. 1400. 
The term, as applied to the literary world, may be mis- 
leading. There was no such ignorance as one might 
imagine. And yet, when compared with the classic 
period which preceded it, and with the development of 
modern times, it was a day of darkness. Art and litera- 
ture waned greatly, and mental activity bordered on 
stagnation. But in spiritual things the phrase can not 
be exaggerated. The church degenerated and morals 
and ethics suffered greatty. The ''letter" was never 
more carefully observed, but the "spirit" was absent. 
The externals of worship were prominent, but the inner 
life was weak unto death. The Book was closed to the 
people, and its teachings and ordinances were ignored 
and corrupted. The authority of God was rejected and 
that of the Pope substituted. And it was a day of 
martyrdom, and the blood of the saints was poured out 
like water. 

Early in the fourth century a great change occurred 

in the outward relations of the church. There was a 

lull in persecution, and a revolution in the imperial policy 

was at hand, and the day of complete liberation to 

Christendom was dawning. This was brought about by 
20 



THE DARK AGES—L 21 

the military success of Constantine, who was called from 
the head of the army in Britain in 306, to succeed his 
father, Augustus Constantius, as the Roman emperor. 
In 312 he defeated and destroyed Augustus Maxentius 
in battle. Tradition says that before this battle he 
discovered in the heavens the sign of the Cross, with 
the inscription, ''In hoc signo vinces'' — ''By this con- 
quer." He interpreted the sign as a voice from heaven 
in favor of Christianity, and henceforth avowed his faith 
in it. The cross in all his subsequent wars was never 
absent from his banners. But by many it is thought 
that his conversion was born of policy rather than prin- 
ciple: it was a shrewd method to attract Christians to 
his support. He revoked the policies of his cruel prede- 
cessors, and made many concessions to the new faith. 
In 313, by royal edict, he made Christianity one of the 
legal religions of the empire. And ten years later, in 
323, he made it the state religion throughout his do- 
minions. 

A sigh of relief and a song of joy came with the day 
when Christians could worship their God in the open 
without the fear of the sword. But it was an evil day, 
and fraught with far greater danger than that of the 
sword. It was an error well-nigh fatal, and the ebb-tide 
of the church began. The union of church and state 
was an unholy marriage, and so the poor church, like 
one diseased, lost her vitality, and became an easy prey 
to external persecution and internal decay. Her candle- 
stick was removed, and she lost her light. Her brave 
men, who once thundered against sin, were fed to the 
lions or burned at the stake, and their timid followers 
sought safety in the caves of the earth. This unholy 
alliance produced a progeny of evils wdiich cursed the 
church for a thousand years: superstition, the Papacy, 



22 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

purgatory, the confessional, moral corruption of the 
priesthood, ignorance of the masses, the seUing of in- 
dulgences, etc. 

The positions of Christianity and the old heathen 
rehgions were reversed. Favors were showered upon 
the former, but withheld from the latter. In return the 
emperors expected, and generally received, co-operation 
from the clergy and their flocks. These emperors called 
themselves ''bishop of the bishops,'' and often "universal 
bishops.'' Usurpations popular with the popes in later 
years were, with little or no resistance from the church, 
assumed by these men, and the church thus early began 
to model her government after the government of Rome. 

The New Testament church was as simple in its form 
of government as it was in its faith, but corruption 
began early in both the faith and polity. The presbyter 
or bishop was the tw^ofold title of a single office. But 
a change, rapid and deadly, soon took place. We find 
these two titles representing two offices, the bishop being 
superior to the presbyter. Just how this happened we 
do not know. The churches had a plurality of presby- 
ters, elders or bishops, and it is probable that one of 
these by seniority, or strength of character, became 
leader, and a special designation became necessary, and 
they called him bishop. But at first he was the bishop 
of a single church. In the days of her purity each 
church always had a plurality of bishops, but no bishop 
had a plurality of churches. This point marks the be- 
ginning of her downfall, and her restoration is impos- 
sible if it begin not here. 

Another stage in this development probably came 
with the growth of the churches in the great cities. 
These large congregations would send out preachers into 
the adjacent country, and the churches organized would 



THE DARK AGES— 1 , 23 

naturally come under the authority of the mother church 
and her bishop. And in process of time the churches of 
a state or territory were formed into a large ecclesiastical 
body, and they met at certain times to consider their 
g-eneral interests. At such gatherings the chief bishop 
would be called to preside. These assemblies were called 
councils or synods, and the laws they enacted were called 
<:anons or rules. These synods wrought great changes, 
and did it rapidly. They curtailed the privileges of the 
people and increased the power of the bishops. But 
these men were wise enough not to assume at once all 
the power with which they were invested. When they 
first appeared in these councils, they modestly claimed 
to be simply the delegates of their respective churches, 
and acted only in their name. But this humble tone and 
modest claim were temporary, and in their place were 
words of authority and acts of law, and they boldly 
proclaimed that Christ had empowered them to prescribe 
to the churches authoritative rules of faith and practice. 
The next step was the abolition of the equality which 
in the beginning existed among the bishops. In these 
great assemblies they needed a head — some one with 
supreme power and authority, like unto the emperor on 
his throne — and they found him among the metropol- 
itan bishops. The word metropolitan is not heard until 
after the Council of Nicea, in 325, but the idea is older. 
The cities were radiating centers from which preachers 
were sent into the regions round about. Such a city was 
regarded as the maternal city of the territory thus evan- 
gelized. Rome, for example, was the maternal city of 
the church in Italy. The bishop in such cities was the 
metropolitan, and was held in peculiar reverence. He 
was invested with important rights. He could convene 
synods, preside over them, and see that their decrees 

(2) 



24 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

were enforced. There were six of these high dignitaries. 
— one each in Rome, Antioch, Jerusalem, Alexandria,. 
Ephesus and Corinth. 

But this was not enough. It would not do to have 
six heads to one body, and hence the patriarchate, a 
higher office than the metropolitan, was created, and 
four of these high officials came into being — at Rome, 
Alexandria, Constantinople and Antioch. This was 
modeling after the Roman Empire, which was divided 
into four prefectures. The patriarchs consecrated all 
bishops and had general supervision of spiritual matters,, 
including the court of final appeal, and could have rep- 
resentatives at foreign courts. 

Only one more step was necessary, and that was 
soon taken ; for much had already been done to make; 
the Roman bishop chief among the bishops. The churck 
at Rome was a famous church; and after the destruction 
of Jerusalem it was claimed to be the oldest apostolic 
church. The claim of Rome for supremacy was two- 
fold: (i) That Christ had made Peter chief of the 
apostles by giving him the keys of the kingdom; (2) the 
tradition that he was the first bishop of Rome, which,, 
though without any substantial proof, was generally 
accepted in the church. Leo (440-461) pressed these 
claims with such vigor and force that he is often called 
*'the first of the popes." He claimed that all councils 
were subordinate to the successor of Peter. Other 
bishops were ordinary, but he was extraordinary; their 
authority was limited ; his was universal. And he ob- 
tained from the Emperor Valentian an edict requiring 
all the churches in the West to submit all matters to the 
bishop of Rome, whose decision was final. 

This high claim brought on a hard-fought battle. 
Cyprian argued that all bishops were equal and the: 



THE DARK AGES—L 25 

church was a unit. Origen said: "If Peter is the only 
one on whom the church is built, what becomes of John 
and the other apostles? Is Peter the only one against 
whom the gates of hell should not prevail?'' Irenseus 
added his great strength to that of Cyprian and Origen, 
and yet without avail. The tide Romeward moved 
steadily on. The Emperor Justinian, in 533, conferred 
the title ''Lord of the Whole Church" on the bishop of 
Rome, which was the capstone of Papal dominion, and 
the end of religious liberty. Mr. Campbell, in his debate 
with Purcell, affirmed that the first pope was crowned in 
A. D. 606. But the dogma of infallibility was not de- 
creed until the Vatican Council in 1870. This was a most 
absurd proceeding, truly. Imagine a company of blind 
men decreeing that one of their number had vision, and 
you have the parallel of a council of fallible men decree- 
ing that one of their number was infallible. 

In the work of Rome we see the danger of central- 
ized power. When Jesus announced that all power on 
earth and in heaven had been given him, the world 
should have shouted for joy, for his perfect wisdom 
secured its proper use, and his perfect purity saved it 
from abuse. Not so with man, for neither his wisdom 
nor his purity is perfect. When he holds power long 
and easily he is apt to become more corrupt and oppres- 
sive. This is visible to all in the commercial and political 
world, and it should be equally plain in the religious 
world. This is why each church in the beginning was 
a little government within itself. Mosheim says : "Each 
Christian assembly was a little state, governed by its 
own laws." But in process of time all this was changed. 
Rulers, after long service, forgot they were servants, 
and became masters — cruel masters — and ruled with a 
rod of iron. The independence of the local congregation 



26 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

departed, and all was ruled and ruined by a mammoth 
organization. And the church of to-day should not lose 
this lesson. Man is now as he was then, and therefore 
the danger is the same. Let us co-operate in all good 
works, held together by the law of love; but never sur- 
render to any convention or council the liberty where- 
with the Lord has made us free. When, for example, 
a missionary society adds to its legitimate work that of 
a pulpit-supply company, ousting men who will not do 
its bidding, and giving their places to others who will, it 
is time to call a halt; and when it presumes to legislate 
on questions of doctrine, and other kindred matters, the 
day of its usefulness is gone, and the day of danger has 
arrived, and it should be dissolved. 

Rome, once enthroned in power, began a period of 
persecution, under the guise of Christianity, more terrible 
than ever disgraced the annals of paganism. With 
sword and torch she would destroy all who refused to 
bow to her the knee. We have space for only a glimpse 
of her work in connection with the Inquisition, an eccle- 
siastical court officially styled the Holy Office, for the 
detection and destruction of heretics. In our favored 
land, where the Pope has no such power as he then had, 
it is difficult to believe in the tyranny of his dominion 
at that time. This terrible tribunal defied every principle 
and every form of justice. Its work was all done in the 
dark. It loved darkness rather than light because its 
deeds were evil. Its victim was seized in secret, tried in 
secret, and was never permitted to see the face of friend 
or foe, court or council, and was kept in ignorance of 
the charge against him. If he hesitated to criminate 
himself, he was tortured unmercifully. From the hour 
of arrest till the hour of execution he never saw the light 
of day. On one occasion a beautiful Jewess of seventeen 



THE DARK AGES^L 27 

years was led forth to execution. The queen was near 
the scaffold, and the poor girl appealed to her: ''Great 
Queen, will not your royal presence be of some service 
to me in my miserable condition? Have regard to my 
youth; and, oh! consider that I am about to die for 
professing a religion imbibed from my earliest infancy !" 
The pathetic appeal touched the heart of the queen, but 
even she dared not interfere in behalf of one who had 
been declared by this court a heretic. 

The massacre of Saint Bartholomew is a well-known 
example of these persecutions. It was an organized 
slaughter of the French Huguenots, when thirty thou- 
sand were slain. The bodies were thrown into the rivers 
until they looked like streams of blood; and blood also 
flowed in the streets. The massacre started in Paris, 
but extended to all the near-by provinces. At Orleans 
one thousand were slain; at Rowen, six thousand, and 
at Lyons, eight hundred. At Augustobana, the people, 
hearing of the massacre at Paris, closed the gates that 
no Protestant might escape, and every one was murdered. 

In the thirteenth century, when the Pope was at the 
summit of his power, he was independent of all king- 
doms, and ruled with a force never before or since seen 
in a single scepter; and, unlike other scepters, he ruled 
over both body and soul. The victims of his savage 
reign were counted by the hundreds of thousands. And 
when we add to those who were murdered the long list 
who perished in dungeons and those who died of broken 
hearts, the numbers are beyond register. 

But, in spite of all this, and a volume more of the 
same kind, there are many who will regard the writer 
as an alarmist, and assure us that there is no danger. 
They would have us believe the Pope has neither the 
power nor the desire he had then. To all such let it be 



28 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

said that if we would see the Hon as he really is, he 
must be seen in the jungles, where he is monarch of all 
he surveys, and where none dare molest him, and not in 
the cage, where his powers are limited and his fierce 
spirit for the time is curbed. Even so, if we would see 
the Pope as he really is, we are to look at him when it 
was his will and privilege to put forth his full power; 
and not to our land, where it is his wisdom, because of 
a lack of power, to do otherwise, that he may lull us 
into the belief that his presence here is to help, and not 
to harm; that he would not, if he could, repeat the his- 
tory of Italy, France and Spain in our own beloved 
America. 



CHAPTER IV. 

The Dark Ages — 11. 

The Vallences or Valdenses — Peter Waldo — The Paul- 

icians and Albigenses — The Waldenses — Colonel 

Beekwith, 

In tracing the history of God's people onward for 
many years, the Hght is dim and the work is difficult, but 
it is clear enough to reveal in outline a most thrilling 
story. 

The persecutions of the second, third and fourth 
centuries drove the faithful from their pleasant and 
fertile homes in sunny Italy to the wild and desolate 
regions of the Alps. Here, shut out from the rest of 
the world, the natural result would be little change on 
their part. The teachings and practices would be handed 
down from father to son so that each generation would 
be a faithful reflection of the one just before it. The 
Cottian Alps, where these trembling saints found protec- 
tion from their foes, like a land-locked harbor, shielded 
them from the fury of the storm that raged without. 
When the Gothic nations, like an avalanche, descended 
upon Italy, it seems that they came either by the Rhaetian 
or Julian Alps, and never by way of the Cottian Alps. 
Thus the Father, as with Elijah in the cave, saved them 
from the fires and winds and earthquakes without. By 
the later writers these people are called Vallences or 
Valdenses, because of their home in the Alpine valleys. 
As late as the thirteenth century these designations were 
retained and cherished by a pious people, because they 
were descriptive of their early local life. 

29 



30 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

These people made the lofty claim of having always 
maintained the pure doctrine of Christ and his apostles, 
and declined to be called a reformxcd church, saying they 
had never needed reformation. And this claim, so far, 
at least, as antiquity is concerned, finds strong confirma- 
tion at the hands of their enemies. About the year 1630 
Marco Aurelio Rarenco was employed to make a strict 
investigation concerning them ; and his researches led 
to the production of two volumes, one published in 1632 
and the other in 1649. In the first he admits that the 
Valdenses were so ancient as to afford no absolute cer- 
tainty as to the precise time of their organization. 

Until the time of Peter Waldo, the rich m.erchant of 
Lyons, about 1160, the Waldenses clung close to their 
homes in the mountain fastness of the Alps, mingling 
only slightly with their neighbors in the near-by low- 
lands. But, with his coming, a new impulse was given 
them, and new efforts were put forth to spread abroad 
the teachings of their Master. 

The conversion of this illustrious reformer bears a 
striking resemblance to the conversion of Luther. Luther 
was a Papist from birth. When twenty years of age, 
having finished his course of philosophy at Erfurt, he 
was one day walking with an intimate friend in the 
fields. Suddenly a violent thunderstorm came upon them, 
and his companion was stricken dead by lightning. The 
awful catastrophe had a mighty effect on the mind of 
the future reformer. He resolved at once to withdraw 
himself from the world and enter the monastery of 
Erfurt. His father protested, but in vain. The son was 
inflexible, for he believed the sad incident the voice from 
heaven, calling him to what he regarded the holiest of 
earthly lives — monasticism — and so he took upon him- 
self its vows. 



THE DARK AGES— II . 31 

Peter Waldo on a public occasion was once assembled 
with a company of wealthy and distinguished citizens, 
when one of the number suddenly dropped dead. Peter 
was impressed much as was Luther ; but the immediate 
result was entirely different. He was not a student, like 
the young German scholar, and hence the idea of a 
secluded life of meditation and prayer did not occur to 
him ; but, being a business man, his thoughts naturally 
assumed a businesslike and practical cast; and so he 
determined to distribute his wealth among the poor, and 
devote himself henceforth to the propagation of the 
gospel. Pie had the Scriptures translated into the lan- 
guage of the people, and with marvelous success he 
rallied them round the cross. He was specially severe 
in his denunciations of the Roman Church, calling it the 
Babylon of the Apocalypse, and warning his hearers 
against her abominations. 

Under the name of the ''Poor Men of Lyons'' he 
organized a special order of preachers and missionaries, 
who, instead of resting quietly at home enjoying their 
reHgion among themselves, should go forth like the early 
church, bearing the glad tidings to the uttermost parts 
of the earth. 

About the middle of the seventh century, Constan- 
tine, a native of Armenia and an inhabitant of Mana- 
nalio, received from a deacon returning from captivity 
in Syria, whom he entertained in his home, a present 
of two valuable books, one containing the four Gospels 
and the other the fourteen Epistles of Paul. They were 
prized by him very highly, and he read them with a 
relish characteristic of a strong soul hungering and 
thirsting for light. They completely revolutionized his 
thought and life. And, being a man of noble type, he 
was unwilHng to hold his new treasure alone, and so, 



32 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

with burning zeal, he began to share it with his neigh- 
bors. They also greatly appreciated it, and converts in 
large numbers gathered about him. A new church, 
founded on the principle of reformation, was organized. 
This church, probably because of admiration for the 
great apostle Paul, called themselves ''Paulicians.'' 

Their Bible was soon enlarged by the addition of 
the Book of Acts, the Epistles of James and Jude, and 
the three Epistles of John ; so that, with the exception 
of Peter's Epistles and Revelation, their New Testament 
was complete. They seem also to have possessed the 
Old Testament. 

The more they knew of their Book, the more they 
imbibed its spirit, and the more zealously and success- 
fully they made it known to others. Like its Christ and 
the primitive Christians, they became missionaries in- 
deed. And their success was not confined to those of 
the humbler walks of life, but many monks and priests 
joined their number. 

They not only taught the truth as they found it in 
the Scriptures, but they boldly assailed popular error 
standing in the way of the truth. They renounced the 
Catholic teachings concerning holy wood and holy water, 
and transubstantiation, and the worship of the Virgin 
and the saints; and they contended that the Bible ought 
not to be locked in the hands of the priesthood, but 
should be accessible to all. They denied the supremacy 
of Peter, and defied his pretended successors. They 
strove to walk in the way of the early church. 

It was not strange that such teachers and teaching 
should arouse the fury of Rome. She already knew 
how to burn offensive literature, and to slaughter with- 
out mercy those who dared to oppose her sway; and 
according^ly a bloody persecution was inaugurated against 



THE DARK AGES— II. 33 

them, and many were sawn asunder, or stoned to death, 
or burned upon huge funeral piles. 

So bitter and relentless was this persecution in the 
East, that the poor Paulicians finally decided to flee into 
the West, and about 755 A. D. the first deputation de- 
parted. These were quickly followed by others. They 
passed over from Asia into Thrace and Bulgaria. But, 
like Noah's dove, they found no rest for the soles of 
their feet. The fires of persecution from Constantinople 
were as furious as those from which they fled. How- 
ever, some of them refused to go farther, and remained 
there in spite of oppression. But others pressed on west- 
ward into Germany, Italy and France. Here they were 
designated by a variety of names, the most prominent 
of which was Carthari, or Puritans. But soon they set- 
tled in large numbers about the city of Albi, and hence 
they received another, and more popular, name — 
Albigenses. Southern France proved to be a congenial 
clime for the tired pilgrims. The hearts of the people, 
warm like their southern sun, opened in sympathy to 
receive the persecuted foreigners. In fact, it can be said 
to the everlasting glory of this section of Europe, that 
it had, since the second century, been inclined to the New 
Testament idea of religion. 

The prosperity of these zealous religionists was so 
great that, in the early part of the eleventh century, 
Rome began heroic measures for their destruction. The 
Pope, like Pharaoh when noting the rapid increase of the 
Jews in the land of Goshen, was afraid of them, and he 
determined to destroy them. But his persecutions, as 
in the case of the Egyptian king, and also in the history 
of the early church, utterly failed. Christ was with his 
people, and the spirit of martyrdom prevailed gloriously, 
and, with Paul, they regarded it a great honor to suffer 



34 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

for their Saviour. They approached the places of tor- 
ture and death, not with saddened faces and lagging 
steps, but with alacrity in their movements and with 
songs on their lips. 

But their enemies, strong and cruel, were not to be 
outdone. And in 1209, a formidable army, led by Simon, 
Earl of Montfort, was hurled against the heretics, for 
the purpose of extirpating them from the face of the 
earth by fire and sword. This bloody war, with a bar- 
barism worthy of the most brutal savagery, was carried 
on for several years. Finally, when further resistance 
seemed impossible and unprofitable, large numbers of 
the persecuted, about the middle of the fourteenth cen- 
tury, emigrated, and took up their abode with their 
brethren, the Vallences of the Cottian Alps, in the val- 
leys of the Piedmont. From this time on the Albigenses 
seem to lose their identity. Even their name disappears, 
and they are gradually absorbed by their sister church, 
the Vallences. This was a natural result. Their faith 
was substantially the same, their persecutions were akin, 
and mingling constantly with each other in local fife, 
like kindred drops of rain, they blended into one, and 
the united body might be called ''The Church of the 
United Vallences and Albigenses." 

And here under the shadow of the Alps, we can trace, 
perhaps more clearly than at any other place on the 
earth, the visible line of apostolic succession from the 
second century to the Lutheran Reformation of the six- 
teenth century, and so find fulfilled the precious prom- 
ise: ''The gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.'' 

History affords no brighter example of the true hero 
and heroine than the story of the Waldenses. It reads 
like romance. And never, while man appreciates valor 
in defense of home and liberty, and faith in the midst 



THE DARK AGES— 11. 35 

of the most severe trials, will we lose interest in the 
noble martyrs, the actors in this bloody drama. 

Their home on the large map before me is a little 
green spot which could be covered by the tip of the 
little finger. It is in the northwest corner of Italy, under 
the shadow of the Cottian Alps, at the point where these 
mountains separate Italy and France. It is only eighteen 
by twenty miles, but fertile, beauti'f ul and romantic. It is 
composed of three main valleys, and several smaller 
ones, each well watered by a mountain stream, all of 
which flow into the river Po. Many of the mountain- 
sides are terraced with rich soil carried up in baskets, 
and the rest furnish grazing for their cattle. 

This charming place for thousands of years has been 
both a home and a fortress for these people. They 
think it was designed of God for this special purpose. 
They apply to themselves Rev. 12:6: ''And the woman 
fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared 
of God." They make a similar application of Ps. 11 : i, 
'Tlee as a bird to your mountain," and claim as David 
had to fly to the hills for safety, so have they. Leger, 
their historian, says of it: 'The Eternal, our God, who 
destined this country to be the special theater of his 
marvels, and the asylum of his ark, has naturally and 
wondrously fortified it." And many have been the 
times, when their foes have been hurled back by these 
heaven-built battlements, that they could sing: 

"For the strength of the hills we bless thee, 

Our God, our fathers' God ! 
Thou hast made thy children mighty — 
By the touch of the mountain sod. 

"Thou hast fixed our ark of refuge 
Where the spoiler's foot ne'er trod; 
For the strength of the hills we bless thee. 
Our God, our fathers' God !" 



36 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

The origin of the Waldenses has long been a fruitful 
source of contention. They claim to have existed since 
the origin of error in the apostolic age, and that they 
fled for refuge from the early Roman emperors to these 
mountain fastnesses, and all through the Dark Ages 
have striven to preserve the gospel in its purity. Milton 
sings of them as having 

"Kept Thy truth so pure of old, 
When all our fathers worshipt stocks and stones." 

Others dispute this claim, and argue that their origin 
is of comparatively recent date. Perhaps we will never 
have the full light on this question; and this because of 
three facts : first, in the beginning they produced very 
little literature ; second, their enemies destroyed not only 
the people, but also their writings ; and, third, being 
heartless enemies, they have concealed every fact that 
reflects their glory, and magnified every one which would 
injure their good name. As for ourselves, we incline 
to the claim of the Waldenses, and believe that there 
has never been a time when God was ''without a wit- 
ness," though often these witnesses, like the seven thou- 
sand who did not ''bow the knee to Baal," were hidden 
away in the mountains and caves of the earth; and that 
these people, above all others, have a right to this lofty 
claim. They were not always known by the same name, 
as we have already shown^ but like small streams of 
truth, at various times and places, and with various 
designations, they at last flowed together in a common 
channel, known as the Waldenses. 

Teofilo Gay, D.D., one of the highest authorities on 
the subject, claims that, so far as modern history is con- 
cerned, their origin is to be found in three kindred, but 
independent, movements, during the fifty years inter- 
vening between mo and 1160, at Toulouse, Brescia and 



THE DARK AGES— II. 37 

Lyons, and were designated respectively "Albigenses/' 
*Toor Men of Lombardy'' and "Poor Men of Lyons;'' 
but soon after 1170, owing to Roman Catholic persecu- 
tion, they became one body, known as Vallences or 
Waldenses. The leader of the first movement was Peter 
De Bruys, a converted priest, who was wonderfully suc- 
cessful, and who has the honor now to wear a martyr's 
crown. The leader of the second movement was Ar- 
naldo da Brescia, a powerful political and religious re- 
former, who also sealed his faith with his blood. The 
leader of the last movement, whom the Waldenses call 
''not the founder, but the reformer of our order," was 
Peter Valdo, or Waldo, a brief sketch of whom has 
already been given. 

The Waldenses are a distinctly Bible people. In ''The 
Noble Lesson," a poem of five hundred lines, one of 
their productions, are some phrases familiar to, and 
popular with, our people. "Scripture speaks, and we 
ought to believe;" "Every one ought to believe, for the 
gospel has spoken;" "Whatever is not enjoined in Scrip- 
ture is to be rejected; and those only are lawful church 
ordinances or ceremonies which can be traced back to 
the period of our Lord's ascension." These bear a strik- 
ing resemblance to the slogan of our fathers : "Where 
the Bible speaks, we speak; and where the Bible is 
silent, we are silent." They gave much time to memo- 
rizing the text. Entire books of the Old Testament, 
and all of the New, were often thus stored away in the 
mind. And the moral life was high. They placed 
special stress on truthfulness. One of their enemies 
said of them : "They may be recognized by their man- 
ners and speech. They are law-abiding and modest; 
they shun display in dress ; they work with their hands ; 
they content themselves with simple necessities; they 



38 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

frequent neither drinking-shops nor dances ; they avoid 
getting into a passion; they find time for reading and 
teaching; their speech is sober and modest, avoiding all 
bad and silly language/' Their religion was of a rigid 
type, somewhat like our own New Englanders v/hen 
they gave us their famous ''blue laws/' But the warm 
blood of the South was in their veins, which gave to 
them the geniality of the Italian clime. 

Had Rome been wise she might have retained Peter 
Waldo and his army of enthusiastic itinerant preachers, 
and his great benevolent work, in her fellowship. But 
at the first they rejected three of her favorite doctrines 
— purgatory, indulgences, and masses for the dead — and 
such effrontery and heresy must be punished. To Rome 
disobedience was the blackest of sins and the foulest 
of crimes, and no virtue, however pure, and no benevo- 
lence, however Christlike, could atone for it. And so 
Peter, who was anxious to labor within the church, 
found that there was no place for him there, and he 
and his friends, branded as schismatics, had to go out 
into the world. 

The burning bush of the wilderness is a fit symabol 
of the Waldenses in their mountain home. Here they 
passed through not less than thirty bloody persecutions. 

In 1484 Duke Charles I. led the first attack, but thi^ 
was so light, compared with what followed, that it 
scarcely deserves to be mentioned. 

In 1491 the Popish leader, Le Noir (the Black), a 
giant in stature, attacked them with a force of regulars. 
The Waldenses, though as brave soldiers as ever faced 
a foe, were poorly equipped for the conflict, their weap- 
ons being bows, spears and pikes, and for an armor 
they only had bucklers of chestnut bark covered with 
skin. But they had the advantage of position. The 



THE DARK AGES— 11. 39 

only approach to them was through a narrow path, 
flanked on one side by unscalable walls of rock, and on 
the other by a violent mountain torrent. Le Noir, like 
Goliath of old, reviled his despised enemies, and threat- 
ened them with speedy destruction. The only answer 
he heard was the pleading tones of a woman, crying, ''O 
God, help us V Just then the boasting bravado, from 
some cause, lifted his armor, when an arrow from the 
bow of Pierre Revel pierced his forehead between the 
eyes, and he was instantly slain. A panic followed, and 
the Waldenses gained a glorious victory. 

The sixteenth century has been called ''one long 
butchery," when the harlot of Revelation made herself 
''drunken with the blood of the saints" (Rev. 17:6). 
The heart shudders at the long list of barbarities endured 
by these people. Fines, exiles, imprisonments, tortures, 
horrid mutilations, and death with fire and sword, were 
visited upon them. Many of the poorer people were 
doomed to the galleys, the richer ones were robbed, some 
were butchered in their homes, and many fled to the 
caves of the snowy mxountains, where they perished v/ith 
cold and hunger. 

But the bush, though thus furiously burned, was not 
consumed. God raised up valiant leaders for the help 
of his people in their hours of peril. One of these was 
Janavel, a native of the valley of Rora. He saw an 
army of nine hundred enter the valleys, and plunder and 
burn their homes, and drive off their cattle. He had 
only a little band of braves numbering eighteen. He 
first led them in prayer to God, and then fell upon the 
foe with such fury that the old promise, "Five of you 
shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of 3^ou shall 
put ten thousand to flight" (Lev. 26:8), was gloriously 
fulfilled. Another attack was made by eight thousand 



40 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

men; but they, too, had to flee hke chaff before the 
wind. But finally a vast force of ten thousand assailed 
them simultaneously from three sides ; and when human 
valor could, do no more, Janavel led his little band into 
the mountains, leaving his wife and children captives in 
their hands. An awful massacre followed, but his loved 
ones were spared. He was soon informed that they 
were prisoners, and that if he did not surrender 
and renounce his faith they would be burnt alive. It 
was a terrible dilemma for the loving husband and 
father, but God gave him power to return this noble 
answer: ^'Your threats can not m.ake me renounce my 
faith ; they only confirm me in it. Should you cause my 
wife and daughters to pass through the fire, it can but 
consume their mortal bodies ; their souls I commend to 
God, trusting that he will be gracious to them and to 
me, should it please him to let me also fall into your 
hands." With his infant son in his arms, he crossed 
the Alps into France, where he raised a little army of 
five hundred, with which he hurled the cruel invaders 
from his home. 

By this time tidings of this horrible history had 
reached all Europe, and Cromwell, through Milton, his 
famous secretary, issued a protest to Louis XIV. of 
France. He also proclaimed a fast, and took an offering 
for the sufferers which amounted to almost $200,000. 
As a result, peace was concluded on Aug. 18, 1655. 
JanaveFs gun can be seen to-day in the Waldensian mu- 
seum at their capital, Torre Pellice. 

Let us turn away from this frightful picture and 
look upon one of the most fascinating in history. John 
Charles Beckwith was born at Halifax, N. S., Can., in 
1789. He came from an honored family. When only 
fourteen years of age he entered the English army, and 



THE DARK AGES— II, 41 

soon saw much active service. At Waterloo he had 
four horses shot under him ; and one of the last cannon- 
shots from Napoleon's retreating lines wounded him in 
the left leg, and three months later his limb was ampu- 
tated. Had the Waldensians known of the good in that 
shot for them, a shout of praise, long and loud, would 
have gone up to God. For bravery on that gory field 
Beckwith, though only twenty-six, was made a lieutenant 
colonel. And could he have continued in the service he 
doubtless would have reached the highest place in the 
army. But the Lord had other and better work for 
him: He would make of him a soldier of the cross. 
During his long convalescence he was brought face to 
face with his spiritual condition, and finally gave his 
heart to God. 

Several years later, in 1827, while on a visit to his 
old friend and commander, the Duke of Wellington, he 
chanced to see Dr. Gilly's book on the Waldenses. 
Strange to say, he had never heard of these people be- 
fore. The thrilling story took hold of him immediately, 
and with the promptness of a soldier he resolved to see 
for himself a people whose romantic history he had 
found so fascinating. As a result of this visit he de- 
termined to devote the remainder of his life — ^twenty-six 
years — to their good. And God has blessed them 
through him marvelously. 



CHAPTER V. 

Reformers. 

Wyclif — Huss — Savonarola — Luther — Knox — 
Calvin — Wesley. 

The five hundred years (1400-1900) was made fa- 
mous by reformers. Strong men took their hves in 
their hands in their struggles to deHver the church from 
the iron grasp of Rome. ''The perversion of the gospel," 
says Lappin, ''came by the usurpations of men ambitious 
for self; the Reformation came by heroic sacrifices and 
determined contentions of men ambitious for Christ." 
We next note a few of these men: 

I. Wyclif, John Wyclif, a celebrated London 
preacher and scholar, was born about 1324, during the 
reign of Edward II. He was called the "Morning Star" 
of the Reformation, because, like John the Baptist, 
the forerunner of the Christ, he heralded its coming. 

The first thing to give him prominence was his de- 
fense of Queen's College, Oxford, against the begging 
friars. These friars taught that Christ was a beggar, 
and his disciples were beggars, and therefore begging 
v/as a Bible doctrine. Wyclif despised the lazy lives of 
these men, and showed that such lives were a reproach 
to both the church and the world. But he did not stop 
here. Becoming convinced of the errors of Rome, and 
the rottenness of the monastic agents, he determined to 
expose them. He lectured before the people, and lifted 
the veil and let in the light on many heinous vices and 
abuses covered by the darkness of superstition. This 
naturally excited the clamor of the clergy against him, 

42 





John Wycliffe. 



John Huss. 




Savonarola. 





Martin Luther. 



John Knox, 



REFORMERS 43 

and he lost his place in the Faculty of the university. 
But his enemies, instead of stopping him, only spurred 
him on in his work. He denounced transubstantiation, 
and other favorite doctrines. He also attacked the Pope 
— his pride, his avarice, his tyranny, and his usurpation. 
He was the first to call him antichrist. He lashed his 
bishops, contrasting their pomp and luxury with the 
simplicity of the New Testament bishops. This so en- 
raged the Pope that he issued five bulls against him, and 
ordered his imprisonment. But when they would thrust 
him into prison, it was found prudent to modify their 
plan into a prohibition that he was not to preach these 
doctrines v/hich were obnoxious to the Pope. But the 
fearless hero laughed in their faces, and, barefooted and 
gowned, he preached more vehemently than ever. 

In 1378 a controversy arose between Urban VI. and 
Clement VII. as to which was the lawful pope and true 
vicegerent of God. This was Wyclif's opportunity, and 
he improved it to the utmost. He wrote a tract against 
Popery, which was eagerly read by all classes. 

About the close of the year he was thought to be 
nearing death. The begging friars, accompanied by four 
of the most eminent citizens of Oxford, came to his bed- 
side and besought him for his soul's sake to retract the 
unjust things he had taught against their order. This 
attempt to take advantage of his physical condition 
proved to be the very medicine he needed. He rose up 
in bed, and, with a stern face and ringing words, he 
said, 'T shall not die, but live to declare the evil deeds of 
the friars!'' 

After this he did his most important work, the trans- 
lation of the Bible into English, the first complete trans- 
lation of its kind ever made. 

He died in 1384, and forty- four years later, when the 



44 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

wonderful influence of his life was at its greatest, his 
bones were exhumed and burned, and the ashes thrown 
into the Swift. 

"The Avon to the Severn runs, 

The Severn to the sea; 
And Wyclif's ashes spread abroad, 
Far as the waters be." 

2. Hiiss. John Huss, the Bavarian reformer and 
martyr, was born in 1369. He was an ardent admirer 
of WycHf, and did much toward the success of his work. 
He entered the University of Prague in 1389, received 
his A.M. degree in 1396, and began to lecture on phi- 
losophy and theology two years later. In 1401 he be- 
came president of the theological Faculty. 

Huss was anxious to remain in the church, and re- 
form from withfn, but his assaults against indulgences, 
in connection with his coadjutor, Jerome of Prague, 
could not be tolerated, and in 14 13 he was excommuni- 
cated. But this act only fired him with new zeal, and 
his strokes at Rome became swifter and stronger. A 
new bull was flung at him, and he appealed to a general 
council in open opposition to the Pope. The emperor, 
Sigismund, sent a safeguard with him to Constance, 
where the council met. But despite this he was thrown 
into prison in the cathedral, then on an island in 
Lake Constance, and finally in the castle of Gottleben, 
and bound with chains. On July 6, 1415, he was sen- 
tenced, and the same day burnt, and his ashes thrown 
into the Rhine. Thus the ^'pale thin man in mean attire,'' 
in sickness and poverty, completed the forty-sixth year 
of a brave, busy life, and went up to heaven in a chariot 
of fire. 

The fame of Huss rests not so much on his mental 
powers as upon his courage, tenacity and enthusiasm. 



REFORMERS 45 

His was the high honor to be the chief intermediary in 
passing on from WycHf to Luther the torch which 
kindled the Reformation of the sixteenth century. 

3. Savonarola. This brave ItaUan patriot-priest Hved 
and labored in Florence, and among the great men of 
that sunny clime there has not risen a greater than he. 
He was a political, moral and religious reformer of 
great power. He was the chief instrument in the over- 
throw of the Medici, and the restoration of the republic 
in 1494. 

He was one of the world's great preachers. Michel 
Angelo, and men of his type, with multitudes of the 
humbler class, heard him gladly. In a sermon on the 
Apocalypse it is said, by one who heard him, that a halo 
of light seemed to flash about his head as he stirred 
men's souls with the terrible doom awaiting the wicked, 
and their eyes swam in tears as he told of pardon for 
the penitent. Five of the leading men of Florence were 
sent to him, urging that he moderate his tone, and show 
more respect for the rulers of the land. He rejected 
their advice, and said: ''Tell your master that, albeit I 
am a humble stranger, and he the lord of Florence, yet 
I shall remain and he depart." 

His awful denunciations of sin included all classes 
— the lowly and the lofty, the prince and the peasant, 
the church and the Pope. Such crimes were not to be 
pardoned when those against whom they were committed 
had the power to punish. The angry Pope threatened 
vengeance; and on Alay 22, 1498, he was sentenced to 
die, and the day following he was publicly hanged and 
burned, and his ashes cast into the Arno. He was born 
in 1452, and died in 1498. 

4. Luther, Martin Luther, the greatest of these re- 
formers, was born in a miner's hut at Eisleben, Ger- 



48 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

many, Nov. lo, 1483. His aim was to be a lawyer, and 
he spent seven years preparing for his profession. In 
1501 he entered the university at Erfurt, and graduated 
as master of arts in 1503. One day he accidentally found 
a Bible. Although the child of pious parents, he had 
never seen one before. The priests, then as now, w^ould 
keep it from the people. The study of the Book revolu- 
tionized his life, and, against his parents' protest, he de- 
termined to become a monk; and he was consecrated a 
priest in 1507. Next year he was made professor of 
philosophy in the University of Wittenberg. 

In 15 10 he visited Rome. At that time he says he 
was "a most insane Papist.'' The depravity and vices 
lie saw there in the clergy shocked him, but he never 
suspected the doctrines of the church or the authority 
of the Pope. In 15 12 he was made a '^doctor of divin- 
ity," and four years later he became the preacher at 
Wittenberg. Large audiences heard him, and his influ- 
ence was great. But as yet no one suspected, and least 
of all the preacher, that they were on the verge of a 
mighty religious revolution. 

But the spark that lighted the flame came in 15 17, 
when Tetzel, the Dominican friar, approached the Saxon 
border selling indulgences. Leo X. was in need of 
money to build St. Peter's in Rome, and his agents went 
far and wide to get it by the sale of indulgences. They 
appeared in the markets, and for eggs, butter, corn or 
cash the people bought forgiveness, not only for the 
sins already committed, but also for those they desired 
to commit. This aroused the lion in Luther, and he drew 
up his ninety-five theses and nailed them on the church 
door, denouncing the doctrine that the Pope had power 
to forgive sins. The sensation produced was immense ; 
and so great was the indignation that Tetzel had to flee 



REFORMERS 47 

for his life. In a little while this wave of indignation 
swept all over Germany. 

Luther was summoned to Rome, but he refused to 
go. Cardinal Cajetan was sent to Germany, demanding 
that he retract. This he also refused to do. A lull of 
a couple of years followed, and a reconcilation seemed 
possible, but it was only the lull before the storm. In 
1520 a bull was hurled at him by the Pope; and the 
Faculty and students of the University of Wittenberg 
burned it. In 1521 Charles V. opened at Worms the 
first diet he held in Germany, and Luther was ordered 
to be present. His friends tried to dissuade him, but in 
vain. They emphasized the danger in going, when he 
replied, 'T would go to Worms if the devils were as 
thick as the shingles on the roof.'' While before this 
tribunal he made that most famous of all his speeches^ 
closing with these words: ''There I take my stand. I 
can do naught else. So help me God!" 

Luther translated the New Testament into German 
in 1522, and ten years later he completed the translation 
of the entire Bible into his native tongue, thus giving 
the truth to his people, and establishing a literary lan-^ 
guage among them. 

The Lutheran denomination wears his name, and 
this in spite of the fact that he said, "Call not yourselves 
Lutherans, but call yourselves Christians.'' 

The old hero, the greatest man since Paul, died in 
the town where he was born, in 1546. 

5. Knox. John Knox, a celebrated reformer, states- 
man and writer, and the father of Presbyterianism, was 
born in Scotland in 1505. The chief work of this daunt- 
less hero was to overcome Mary Queen of Scots 
(''Bloody Mary"), one of the most wicked rulers of the 
world. 



48 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

He was educated at the University of St. Andrews. 
From Jerome and Augustine he early learned the value 
•of the Bible, which in 1542 led him into the Protestant 
fold. For this act he had to seek shelter from the wrath 
of the Pope. Under a false charge he was later con- 
demned to the galleys and chained to the oar. Liberty 
•came in 1549, when he renewed the battle against popery 
with increased success. When Mary (1553) came to the 
throne, he again had to flee for safety, which he found 
in Geneva with Calvin. The clergy of Scotland burned 
him in effigy. In 1558 his ''First Blast of the Trumpet 
Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women'' made its 
appearance. The women assailed were Mary of Guise, 
queen dowager and regent of Scotland; Princess Mary, 
afterwards queen, and Queen Mary, the ''Jezebel" of 
England. One year later he returned to Scotland, where 
lie was proclaimed an outlaw and rebel. The Confession 
of Faith, mainly his work, was adopted by Parliament 
in 1560, and Roman Catholicism was abolished. His 
power increased until he was mightier than the throne. 

Knox was of a loving nature ; he hated the sins of 
men, and not the sinners; his animosities were the ani- 
mosities of principle and not of persons ; he was of iron 
will, but above all pettiness ; none had cause to fear him 
but the enemies of truth ; he blended the roughness and 
ruggedness of a reformer with the tenderness of a wo- 
man. He was profoundly religious, and trusted not in 
his own strength, but in the strength of the Lord. His 
constant prayer was, "Lord, give me Scotland or I die!'' 
So fervent was he in his religious life that Mary said 
she feared his prayers more than an army of men. 

On Nov. 24, 1572, he died in peace — "one of the most 
heroic men of a heroic race." He was called "the light 
of Scotland, the comfort of the church, and the mirror 



REFORMERS 49 

of godliness." And one, standing by his grave, voiced 
the sentiment of multitudes, when he said, ''Here lies 
one who never feared the face of man." 

6. Calvin, John Calvin, the celebrated reformer, was 
a Frenchman, born in 1509. His purpose was to be a 
lawyer, but the Scriptures, as in the lives of Luther and 
Knox, wrought a revolution in his plans, and sent him 
to the pulpit instead of the bar. About 1528 he embraced 
Protestantism, and became one of its most fearless de- 
fenders. He was banished from Paris, and he fled to 
Geneva, where, in 1559, he founded the Academy of 
Geneva. His ''Institutes," his greatest work, was pub- 
lished in 1536. He was a voluminous writer, and alto- 
gether fifty-one volumes have been published from his 
pen. The French language owes him a debt similar to 
that which the German language owes Luther. Civil 
liberty, likewise, the world over, is his debtor. And by 
many he is regarded the greatest Protestant commen- 
tator, having colored the theology of the church as no 
other man ever did. 

But there is one blot on his fine character — ^his con- 
nection with the burning of Servetus for heresy — ^which 
all good men regret, and none can justify. 

7. Wesley, John Wesley w^as born at Epworth, 
England, in 1703. When six years of age the parsonage 
at Epworth (his father was a preacher) was burned, 
and he narrowly escaped death in the flames. He had 
a great mother, and his life was molded by her in his 
early years. He was educated at Oxford, and his pro- 
ficiency as a student was extraordinary. 

By nature he was religious, but he came to manhood 
when the church was dying of worldliness. At Oxford, 
aided by his brother Charles, he became the leader of a 
band of young men noted for their piety. They adopted 



50 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

rather rigid rules of life, and for this cause were nick- 
named ''Methodists/' The burden of their plea was 
for more vital piety, deeper personal holiness, and a 
closer walk with God. In 1735 Wesley was sent to 
Georgia as a missionary, but he returned to England 
three years later. In 1738 he organized the first Meth- 
odist ''society" in London. The foundation-stone of his 
first chapel was laid in Bristol in 1739. Near the close 
of the year Wesley says that "eight or ten persons came 
to me in Lx)ndon and desired that I would spend some 
time with them in prayer, and advise them how to flee 
from the wrath to come; this was the rise of the united 
society.'' He was one of the world's most incessant 
workers. He traveled, mainly on horseback, five thou- 
sand miles, and preached five hundred sermons a year, 
for nearly fifty years. He organized and governed his 
societies, which, at his death, had eighty thousand mem- 
bers; carried on a large correspondence; read widely, 
and wrote voluminously. 

Mr. Wesley is the father of Methodism, and his chil- 
dren are numbered by the millions ; but he lived and 
died a member of the Church of England; and shortly 
before his death he said: "Would God that all party 
names and unscriptural phrases and forms which have 
divided the Christian world were forgotten, and that we, 
as humble, loving disciples, might sit down at the Mas- 
ter's feet, read his holy Word, imbibe his spirit, and 
transcribe his life into our own." 

Wesley died in London in 1744. He and his brother 
Charles sleep side by side, and above them is a marble 
tablet with the inscription, "God buries the worker, but 
carries on the work." 





John Calvin. 



John Wesley. 




James A. Haldane. 





Thos. Campbell. 



Alexander Campbell. 



CHAPTER VI. 

The Haldanes. 

Military Life — Mothers — Missions — Denominationalisrd 
— Alexander Campbell, 

Robert and James Haldane, brothers, labored faith- 
fully together for God in Scotland. Robert was born in 
London, Feb. 28, 1764, and James in Dundee, Scotland, 
July 14, 1768. These are two of the finest figures in 
modern church history; and since they are not so well 
known as those of whom we have just spoken, we will 
devote more space to them. 

They came from a distinguished Scotch ancestry. 
The father, Capt. James Haldane, was a naval officer of 
worth. But his immediate influence over his sons was 
limited, for he died when Robert was four years of age, 
and two weeks before James was born. So the im- 
portant and difficult task of training the boys for their 
mission in the world was left to the mother, and, as is 
generally the case under these circumstances, she did her 
work well. She, too, was well born, for she was a sister 
of the celebrated Admiral Duncan, of the British Navy. 

The deep impress of a pious mother was manifest 
early in the lives of her boys. As early as nine they 
began to consider seriously the things of the soul. And 
after retiring at night it was a common custom for them 
to talk of the things learned from her lips. But, what- 
ever the impressions in their hearts, it was then con- 
sidered in Scotland quite out of the question for one of 
wealth and position to enter the ministry ; and so Robert, 
when he left Edinburgh University, entered the navy, 

51 



52 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

and later distinguished himself in the war with France, 
receiving the highest commendation from his com- 
mander, Admiral Jervis. But peace was made in 1783, 
and he retired to his valuable estate called Airthrey, 
where he spent the next ten years in its improvement. 

During these peaceful years the religious impressions 
of his mother were revived, and soon became the ruling 
influence of his life. He became a dihgent student of 
the Book, and his cultured head and heart fairly reveled 
in its riches. Infidelity at that time was popular and 
powerful, and Robert gave special attention to the evi- 
dences of Christianity, and soon became a formidable 
defender of the faith. In 1816 he published ''Evidences 
and Authority of Divine Revelation;'' and some years 
later a second edition was published. In 1835 he also 
published ''Exposition of the Epistle to the Romans.'' 

As he dug down into the depths in search of the 
foundations of the faith, his own faith grew stronger, 
and he became a new man in the Christ. His feet were 
resting on the solid rock, and the light and inspiration 
about him grew brighter and stronger every day. New 
zeal and consecration possessed him, and he resolved 
to devote both his life and his wealth to the cause of the 
Lord. "Christianity," he declared, "is everything or 
nothing. If it be true, it warrants and commands every 
sacrifice to promote its influence. If it be not, then let 
us lay aside the hypocrisy of believing it." 

When James was seventeen years of age he left the 
university and entered upon the life of a seaman in the 
East India trade. He was soon made a captain and given 
the command of a vessel. In December, 1793, he was to 
go out with a large fleet. But from some cause it was 
detained at Downs until May. During this time his mind 
was turned to religious matters, and he thought seriously 



REFORMERS 53 

of changing the whole current of his Hfe. His brother's 
example and advice turned the scales, and he abandoned 
the sea and turned to the church. He settled in Edin- 
burgh, and religious people and religious books became 
his constant companions, and his spiritual life deepened 
and ripened. The Bible was supreme with him, and he 
tested everything by it; and whenever an opinion, how- 
ever old and cherished, failed to stand the test, it was 
cast overboard. Both of the brothers, influenced by the 
prevailing teachings on conversion, looked to their feel- 
ings, rather than to their faith, for the evidence of ac- 
ceptance with God, and, of course, they had trouble. 
Men of this type always have it. They were men of 
strong minds, well trained, and emotionalism did not 
satisfy them. But this study of the Book led them out 
of the prevailing darkness, and gave them light and 
liberty in the Lord. Speaking of his experience, James 
says : 'T got no comfort in this way. I wearied myself 
with looking for some wonderful change to take place, 
some inward feeling by which I might know that I was 
born again. The method of resting simply on the prom- 
ises of God was too plain and easy, and, like Naaman, 
instead of bathing in the waters of the Jordan and being 
clean, I would have some great work to substitute in 
place of Jesus Christ. The Lord gradually opened my 
eyes." 

Here are courage and comfort for pious mothers. 
The mother of these noble sons planted the seed in their 
hearts early, and she had cultivated it the best she could ; 
and she had always borne them up to God on the wings 
of prayer. Were her toils, her tears and her prayers to 
be in vain? At times it looked as if they would. But 
in due time they came to fruitage in two of the m.ost 
saintly and useful men in the history of the church. 



54 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

New life now dawned upon the two brothers. Their 
conversion was thorough, involving a change in thought, 
purpose and pocketbook. Like Barnabas, they brought 
their large wealth and laid it at the foot of the crosSo In 
the new race upon which they had entered they would 
not be entangled with the things of this world, but they 
would be ''rich toward God/' 

Robert's heart turned to the foriegn field as a place 
of labor. His life in the navy had acquainted him with 
its wants. He would go to the Hindoos living under the 
British Government. He elected three colaborers — 
strong men — and at his own charges would begin the 
work. 

Benares, the metropolis of Oriental paganism, the 
holiest of all their holy cities, was selected as the place 
where the banner of Prince Jesus was to be first un- 
furled. This proud city, with its gorgeous temples and 
shrines, its glittering domes and minarets, its sparkling 
fountains and countless idols, and with its benighted 
population, seemed to be the strategic point at which to 
launch the great crusade. How like Paul was this ! In 
all his missionary enterprises he aimed at the centers of 
civilization. But the East India Company, the most 
powerful commercial organization then in existence, in- 
terfered, and made the scheme impossible. 

He next thought of Africa, and organized a plan 
for bringing bright children from the Dark Continent to 
England, and educating them and sending them back as 
missionaries. For this purpose he pledged $35,000. 
Twenty boys, carefully selected, were brought to Lon- 
don. But those acting with Mr. Haldane objected to his 
supervision of their education because of his advanced 
religious views, and this plan also failed. 

As it seemed impossible to help the heathen, he 



REFORMERS 55 

turned to the home land. He and his brother, aided by- 
Rowland Hill, and other great spirits, had in the mean- 
time aroused Scotland by their evangelistic zeal. They 
erected in the chief cities large tabernacles for reaching 
the unchurched masses. The Church of Scotland was 
too dignified for this, and her methods were too stiff and 
staid for the burning demands of the hour, and, as a re- 
sult, a Congregational church was organized. James 
Haldane became the minister, and served successfully for 
fifty-two years — up to the time of his death, Feb. 8, 
1 85 1, in his eighty-third year. 

The church, with 310 charter members, was organ- 
ized January, 1799, with the avowed purpose to enjoy 
Christian fellowship on a Scriptural plan, to observe the 
ordinances faithfully, to evangelize the waste places, 
and to escape the narrow and bitter spirit of the ortho- 
doxy of the day. 

A school for the training of young preachers was 
established in Glasgow, presided over by Greville Ewing, 
and another at Dundee under Mr. Innes. The students 
were all Presbyterians. The only qualifications neces- 
sary for admission were piety, talent, and a desire to 
preach the gospel to a lost world. They were to go 
into the highways and hedges, unfettered by the creeds 
of men, and preach Christ to the people. The expense 
of these schools was met by the Haldanes. 

These men, like all faithful Bible students, had to 
meet the baptismal question. They entered upon the 
investigation, determined to know the truth and walk in 
it. And so, in 1808, just before Alexander Campbell 
entered Glasgow University, James Haldane announced 
to his great congregation in Edinburgh that he could 
not conscientiously baptize any more infants. In a 
short time he gave up affusion altogether, and was im- 

(3) 



56 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

mersed. The other brother was not long m following 
his example. This produced much discussion, which 
was not always sweet, and finally resulted in division. 
The Haldanes strove in vain to prevent this, telling the 
people that their action was personal, and did not bind 
others. They had only done what they believed to be 
their duty, and would not make baptism a test of fellow- 
ship, but leave each one to settle it for himself. But 
they could not stem the tide. The Edinburgh Church 
divided, some returning to the Established Church, 
others forming a new congregation, and the remaining 
two hundred continued with the Haldanes. The division 
spirit spread rapidly among other churches, and thus 
the effort to establish independent Congregationalism in 
Scotland received its death-blow in the house of its 
friends. 

But the effort was not without good results. The 
religious world had been thoroughly aroused, and, under 
the leadership of men like Chalmers, a purer gospel was 
preached, and saner and more Scriptural methods were 
used in its propagation. An uprising, though failing to 
reach its aims, often purifies the body politic; so we 
now know that the Haldanes did a great work for Chris- 
tianity, not only in Scotland, but for the entire world. 
They were sowers, not reapers. 

But it was a sad day for these noble brothers. Their 
motives were pure and lofty, their sacrifices were great, 
and their labors were incessant, and yet, as men count 
success, their lives were a failure. They never intended 
to organize a new church, or to teach a new doctrine. 
They only aimed to arouse the church from her sleep 
and to restore apostolic zeal and teaching. They were 
willing and anxious to remain in the Church of Scot- 
land. In their first address to the world, Jan. ii, 1798, 



REFORMERS 57 

they said: ''It is not our desire to form or extend the 
influence of any sect. Our whole intention is to make 
known the evangehcal gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ/' 
They believed there were already enough churches, and 
hence their effort was not to multiply, but to purify, 
them. 

But at that time it was impossible for them to reach 
any other port than the one into which they drifted. 
Their independent study of the Bible naturally led to 
the condemnation of human creeds. When they stripped 
faith of physical feelings, and restored it to its rightful 
realm in the intellect and the emotions, a great host of 
noisy men would condemn them. When they plead for 
a return to the custom of ''lay preaching," and insisted 
that every one who knew and loved the truth, whether 
ordained by human hands or not, should preach it, jeal- 
ous of their monopoly, the clergy was loud in denuncia- 
tion. And when they plead for immersion as the only 
Bible baptism, and the penitent believer as the only fit sub- 
ject for the ordinance, it was too much to expect less than 
a furious storm of opposition. Such a plea, made by 
such men, should have been hailed with rapturous joy; 
but it was not. And when they realized the sad fact, 
their hearts were broken, and they said: "Whether it 
was that we were not worthy, or whatever was the cause, 
our efforts to restore apostolic churches and primitive 
Christianity were unsuccessful. The truth seems to be 
that the church is in the wilderness, and until the Lord 
choose, in his own good time, to bring her out, we be- 
lieve the attempt will be in vain." 

How beautiful their modesty, and how free from the 
ugly desire to lay the blame elsewhere than at their own 
feet. And admitting, for the moment, that they had 
failed, we can but admire their greatness in their prostra- 



58 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

tion, and hold them in veneration as we do some great 
building lying in ruins. 

But they had not failed. They were seed-sowers, 
and, though the seed had not taken ready root in the 
worn soil of the home land, there was a virgin soil be- 
yond the sea in waiting for it. When the Jew in his 
blindness rejected the gospel, it was sent to the Gentile. 
And when Scotland turns a deaf ear to this noble plea, 
it is sent across the sea to America. Alexander Camp- 
bell, a brilliant young Irishman, aiming to follow his 
father, Thomas Campbell, to America, is shipwrecked, 
and detained on the Irish shores. The delay gave the 
ambitious young man the long- wished- for opportunity 
of completing his education in the famous University of 
Glasgow. God was leading him, as he led Moses, in a 
strange way, that he might be prepared for the mission 
before him. He needed the magic touch of that great 
school, as Moses needed the learning of Egypt, and the 
Father saw that he got it. Here he came in contact with 
the Haldanes, and was enriched by it. His ideas con- 
cerning denominationalism, already permeated by the 
Bible truth, were revolutionized, so much so that Rich- 
ardson, his biographer, says that his stay at the univer- 
sity might be regarded ^'as the first phase of that re- 
ligious reformation w^hich he subsequently carried out 
so successfully in its legitimate issues.'' And thus the 
good seed sown by these noble men was transferred to 
America, where, in a single century, it has produced a 
mighty people one and a half million strong. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Religious Conditions. 

Human Creeds — The Clergy — Bible Ignorance — Total 

Depravity — Conversion — Courage and Method of 

the Campbells, 

To understand any great movement among men we 
must know something of the cause or causes back of it. 
This is not a world of chance. Every effect not only 
has a cause, but that cause is adequate to the effect. 
If we would understand the French Revolution, we must 
go back of that bloody conflict for a starting-point. 
We must learn that the people for generations had 
writhed and groaned under the heavy heel of Bourbon 
rule, and finally, when this could be endured no longer, 
they rose in their wrath and struck for liberty. The same 
is true of the American Revolution. The throwing of 
a few pounds of tea overboard in Boston Harbor was 
not its cause, but its dramatic manifestation. A brave 
people, loyal and longsuffering, had at last reached the 
limit of oppression, and this was their way of telling 
the world about it. Even so, if we would understand 
the Restoration movement of the nineteenth century, 
we must go back at least a hundred years and study its 
fundamental causes. Some of these were: 

I. The pozver of human creeds. They were found 
everywhere, and they were rigid tests of fellowship. 
It made no difference how speculative and abstruse they 
were, it v/as impossible to get into the churches without 
subscribing to them. Their well-meaning, but erring, 
authors seemed not to realize that living, thinking, pro- 

59 



60 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

gressive men can not be made to see alike in details. 
In principles they may be one, but not so in the minutia 
of their application. Among dead men there are no dis- 
cussions and disagreements. In the cemetery alone is 
there absolute harmony. They seemed not to under- 
stand that when one, under the increasing light of civili- 
zation, changed his views regarding the expediences of 
church work, he did not renounce his religion any more 
than a man who changes an old plow for a new and 
better one renounces agriculture. They did. well to use 
their creeds and confessions as histories and helps ; but 
as authoritative law, fixed and final, like the laws of the 
Medes and Persians, they were failures. Creeds for 
growing men must be elastic. 

2. The usurpations of the clergy. These gentlemen, 
as a rule, magnified their office, and were careful to 
impress the masses with the idea that they alone had the 
learning and the leisure essential to an understanding of 
the Bible. These self-constituted leaders might differ 
among themselves in its interpretation, but it was not 
for an unlearned layman to presume to controvert their 
teaching. They not only claimed the exclusive right to 
teach and preach, but also to administer the ordinances, 
except in a few cases, when "ruling elders" were given 
this privilege. With their lips they denounced the Pope 
for denying the people the use of the Bible, and yet in 
their practice was a strong tendency to the same end. 
The absurdity of this was forcibly seen in the act of a 
Bible-loving Irishman. He reasoned that if the Bible 
was a good thing for the priest, it would be good for 
him also, and he secured one. When the priest dis- 
covered this, he rebuked him, saying, 'T will read the 
Bible for the people, and give to them the 'sincere milk 
of the word.' " Pat, with both wisdom and wit, re- 



RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS 61 

sponded, ''True, father, but I preferred to have a cow 
of me own." 

3. There was no intelligent grasp of the Book, It 
was not subject to the estabHshed laws of interpretation 
used in the study of other Hterature. It was a jumble 
of jewels thrown together promiscuously. It was not 
regarded a systematic and progressive revelation of 
God's plans for the redemption of man. ''The succes- 
sive dispensations of religion," says Isaac Errett, "the 
Patriarchal, Jewish and Christian, were all confused, and 
the reader, if inquiring what he must do to be saved, 
was as likely to seek for an answer in Kings, or Chron- 
icles, or Ruth, or the Songs of Solomon, as in Acts of 
Apostles." True, there were a few writers who had 
clear visions, but their teachings were of little practical 
value with the average preacher or reader. 

4. The doctrine of total depravity. This doctrine as 
set forth in the Westminster Confession of Faith was 
almost universal, and the effect was little less than 
awful. The unconverted, instead of being taught to 
come to God for salvation, were told to wait for him to 
come to them in some marvelous, miraculous and irre- 
sistible way. They were told that they were like Laza- 
rus in the grave, utterly unable to help himself, and 
rescued only by a physical miracle of the Lord; and 
so they, being dead in trespasses and in sin, would have 
to be saved by a spiritual miracle. Some, following this 
doctrine to its logical conclusions, refused to preach the 
gospel to the unconverted — even to their own children. 
Thus was royal man robbed of his most kingly power 
— ^the power of volition — and left helpless, like a ma- 
chine, waiting for some outside power to move him. 

5. The doctrine of conversion. Growing out of the 
teachings on depravity, every conversion was expected 



62 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

to have "extraordinary accompaniments/' These gen- 
erally consisted of dreams, sights, sounds, visions and 
feelings, and sometimes a voice direct from the Lord. 
Armenians and Calvinists vied with each other in this 
baleful teaching. The gospel was not a great amnesty 
proclamation, proclaiming pardon to all on the condi- 
tions prescribed, but each case was a special act of 
divine mercy accompanied by some extraordinary mani- 
festation. But only the emotional and impulsive re- 
sponded to this teaching. The other class generally, 
after sincere and prolonged effort to experience these 
wonders, drifted into doubt, and later into skepticism. 
And there were some who interpreted the absence of 
this experience to mean that they were of the ''non- 
elect," and they either became desperate and defiant, or 
sank into the gloomy depths of despair. 

6. The Bible zvas a ''dead letter'' This fearful error 
was also a deduction from the doctrine concerning de- 
pravity. They said the Bible was the "sword of the 
Spirit," not because the Spirit revealed it, but because 
the Spirit wielded it. They claimed as the short, sharp 
sword of the Roman soldier v/as powerless until seized 
by some hero and used in the defense of his country, so 
was the Bible until the Spirit wielded it against the foes 
of God. They overlooked the important fact in this 
(Eph. 6:17), their favorite proof-text, that Paul was 
not exhorting the Holy Spirit to use this "sword," but 
the Ephesian church. It sounds almost blasphemous, 
but it is true that some preachers said that they would 
as soon depend on an old almanac for conversion as on 
the Bible. 

7. Divisions among Christians, Christian union was 
regarded as impossible and undesirable, and division was 
essential to the preservation and purity of the church. 



RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS 63 

Their much-overworked figure was that of an army 
composed of infantry, cavalry and artillery, so that a 
man could choose any department he liked, and all these 
were co-operating in a common cause, and so some 
would prefer the Baptist Church, others the Methodist, 
etc., but all were in the Lord's army, and the different 
churches would stimulate each other in their service. 
The fact that the original church was one, and that the 
Bible condemned divisions, had no effect upon them. 
And the further glaring fact, visible almost everywhere, 
of small towns, hardly strong enough to support one 
church, with two or more eking out a miserable exist- 
ence, was without influence upon them. This worse 
than waste of the Lord's money, and the strength of 
the Lord's people, seemed never to have been seen by 
them. 

8. These divisions were at war with each other. This 
was the worst thing in the whole sad affair, and of this 
they also seemed unconscious. In a recent war, two 
divisions of the same army, mistaking each other for the 
enemy, were mowing down their comrades at a fearful 
rate. A young officer, laboring under the same mis- 
take, and admiring the heroism of the men, called the 
attention of the general commanding to it. In a mo- 
ment he detected the error, and shouted to his staff 
officer: ''Those are our men slaying each other. Rush 
down there and stop it!" The Captain of our salvation 
must often have been grieved by a scene like this. 

Such were some of the leading causes that lay back 
of, and produced, the Restoration movement led by 
Thomas and Alexander Campbell. The great intellectual 
av/akening which began in the fourteenth century had 
v/rought wonders in the world, and marks the transition 
from medieval to modern history. We have seen some- 



64 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

thing of its influence in the lives of the reformers noted 
in the preceding chapters. It not only awoke students 
in religion, but those in science and philosophy also, and 
sent them in search of the original sources of truth. 
Many good results followed, one of the best of which 
was the freeing of the Bible of a traditional covering, 
and the breaking of the chains of Papal power by which 
it had been fettered and kept away from a world hunger- 
ing and thirsting for the light it contained. This light 
not only satisfied the soul, but it awakened the fires of 
patriotism, and led to political liberty and material pros- 
perity. 

Everything was now ripe for another onward move. 
The religious world was travailing in pain, and pious 
men and women were looking, longing and praying for 
a deliverer. In different parts of the w^orld loving 
hearts were weeping over the desolation of Zion, and 
reaching out for something better. The fullness of 
time had arrived when some towering genius should 
appear on the field, unfurl the banner and lead the way; 
and we may be sure that God will call the man. When 
Israel in Egypt needed a leader, Moses was called. 
When the unfinished work of Moses was to be com- 
pleted, Joshua appeared. When Jehovah's altars needed 
to be rekindled, Elijah came. When the secret plot to 
annihilate the Jewish people in a single day was about 
to be consummated, beautiful Esther brought deliver- 
ance. When a people needed to be prepared for the 
coming of the Lord, John the Baptist, in trumpet tones, 
awoke the multitudes. When the Bible was a chained 
book, and the world was groping in densest darkness, 
Luther, the lion-hearted, broke the chain. When the 
church was cold and formal, and life and zeal had fled 
her borders, the Wesleys came to her rescue. And now 



RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS 65 

in this emergency surely history will repeat itself. Je- 
hovah still lives and loves, and his arm is not weakened, 
and his ears are open to the cries of his people. Another 
leader is needed, and he will be found in Alexander 
Campbell, the peer of any of his illustrious predecessors. 

Such was the scene that greeted the Campbells with 
the opening of the nineteenth century. For five hundred 
years great reformers had been doing all in their power 
for the suffering church, and they had accomplished 
much, but not all that was needed. Reformation had 
been their watchword, and many were the abuses which 
they had corrected; but a new watchword was an- 
nounced: Restoration. They proposed to go back of 
Luther, Wesley, and all reformers ; back of the ''Dark 
Ages ;'' back of Rome and the popes, and begin anew. 
They would not stop short of the original ground on 
which the church was established in the beginning; and 
thus disentangled from all the embarrassments of inter- 
vening years, they would endeavor to reproduce the New 
Testament church. 

This was a bold thing to do. Imagine two lonely 
preachers, without fame or influential friends, without 
money or social power — Irishmen — looking upon the 
desolate picture, and resolving by God's help to lift the 
prostrate church to her feet, and start her once more 
upon her divine mission. The faith and courage which 
animated them was akin to that which burned in the 
bosom of the apostles when, at Pentecost, they began 
the colossal task of preaching the gospel to all the world. 

Their program was : Union* in* the Christ, with the 
Bible as a basis, that all might be saved. And some of 
the things emphasized in order to the success of this 
program were: 

I. Exaltation of the Bible. They declared that "noth- 



ee THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

ing ought to be admitted as of divine obligation in the 
church's constitution and management but which is ex- 
pressly enjoined by the authority of the Lord Jesus 
Christ and his apostles upon the New Testament church, 
either in express terms or by approved precedent." The 
Bible, and the Bible alone, was to be the one sole and 
sufficient rule of faith and practice. Their slogan was: 
''Where the Bible speaks, we speak ; and where the Bible 
is silent, we are silent.'' 

2. Difference between the Old Testament and the 
New. While the whole book was from God, there was 
a vital difference between the two Testaments which 
they emphasized. The law was for a single people, and 
for a limited time; the gospel was for all peoples, and 
for all time. The New Testament was a perfect guide 
for the Christian as the Old Testament was for the Jew. 
The ordinances and ceremonies of the Old Testament 
were nailed to the cross, but its moral and spiritual teach- 
ings continue through time. 

3. The creed. The deity of the Christ, as expressed 
by Peter, ''Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living 
God," was the creed, and the only creed, known to the 
New Testam.ent. All other creeds are too young. The 
Nicene Creed was born in the fourth century ; and the 
Apostles' Creed, a miserable misnomer, was never seen 
by an apostle. Creeds had destroyed the unity of the 
church, and that unity could not be restored without the 
destruction of the creeds. A creed containing more than 
this contained too much, and one containing less than 
this contained too little, and hence all others should be 
discarded and this one adopted. 

4. Pure speech. Bible things should be called by 
Bible names. Party names tended to create and per- 
petuate party spirit, and produce divisions, and divisions 



RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS 67 

were carnal. Luther had seen this, and he urged his fol- 
lowers not to wear his name, but the name of Christ; 
and Wesley had done the same. Christ was the bride- 
groom, and the church was the bride, and as a dutiful 
bride she should wear the name of her husband. 

5. The ordinances. These were baptism and the 
Lord's Supper, and they should be restored to their 
places in the church. The Campbells were Presbyte- 
rians, and it required years to see the full Hght on bap- 
tism. It was almost twenty years after the publication 
of the ''Declaration and Address'' before they saw it. 
But, when once it dawned, they joyfully walked in it. 
And as to the Supper, it was observed once a month, or 
once a quarter, or once a year, instead of once a week, 
and not as a joyful feast, commemorating the victory 
of the cross, and the second coming of the Saviour, but 
as a sad and solemn m.emorial to which many timid souls 
were afraid to come, lest they eat and drink to their own 
condemnation. 

6. The Holy Spirit, The Holy Spirit was not a com- 
mand to be preached, but a promise to be enjoyed; and 
so the gospel should be preached and the Spirit 
promised to the obedient believer. It was God's side of 
the matter of salvation, and he would attend to it when 
we obeyed him, whether we fully comprehended it or 
not. No theory concerning his operation should be so 
emphasized as to mar the peace of God's children. 

7. Faith and opinion. Faith rests on testimony, and 
is the power by which we appropriate salvation in Christ, 
and, therefore, is all-important; but our opinions are 
speculations concerning this salvation, and they may be 
right or wrong, and therefore should never be made 
tests of fellowship. Whenever one accepts the atone- 
ment, he should be received regardless of his opinions 



68 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT ■\ 

concerning it. Faith in the Christ is simple — so simple \ 

that a wayfaring man, though a simpleton, may believe ] 

' — but philosophizing about it is an attempt to fathom \ 

the bottomless deep. . \ 

8. Pre-eminence of the Christ. But above all was ; 

the pre-eminence of the Christ. A personal Saviour : 

was to be preached to a personal sinner. A person, and j 

not a system of doctrine, is the object of faith. The | 

Messiahship of the Christ was the central sun around | 
which all truth revolved, and from which it received 

its light and life. If any single item in their teaching | 

was more distinctive of their work than all others, this j 
is that item. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Thomas Campbell. 

Contrasted with Son — Ancestry — Religious Nature — 

Decides to Preach — Ahorey — As a Preacher — 

Divisions — Marriage — Hears Haldane — 

To America, 

Thomas Campbell, because of the greatness of his 
son, Alexander, is liable to be underestimated. An 
ardent admirer has said that he 'Svas eclipsed by his 
son.'' This gifted son, a born leader of men, was richly 
endowed with the powers of argument and oratory. 
But in intellectual insight and originality he was per- 
haps not superior to his father. They supplemented 
each other perfectly, and the one without the other could 
not have succeeded as they did. The father blazed the 
way over which the son traveled to fame; and he laid 
the foundation on which the son built so wisely and 
well; and so they are not rivals, any more than were 
Moses and Joshua, but colaborers in a common cause. 
Joshua could never have led Israel into Canaan if Moses 
had not first brought them through the wilderness. 
Thomas Campbell is the Moses of our movement. 

As an illustration of the father's strength, it must be 
remembered that it was he who wrote the '^Declaration 
and Address," one of the most powerful productions in 
the religious world since the days of inspired men. It 
was he who sounded the great war-cries, so thrilling and 
so useful in their work: ''Where the Bible speaks, we 
speak ; and where the Bible is silent, we are silent ;" "A 
thus saith the Lord, either in express terms, or by ap- 

69 



70 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

proved precedent, for every article of faith, and item 
of religious practice;'' ''Nothing ought to be received 
into the faith or worship of the church, or be made a 
test of communion among Christians, that is not as old 
as the New Testament;'' ''The restoration of primitive 
Christianity, in its doctrine, its ordinances and its prac- 
tice." These mighty slogans, almost magical in their 
power, came from the head and heart of Thomas Camp- 
bell. And the son, many years later, when writing the 
life of his father, acknowledged his greatness, and his 
invaluable assistance in the Restoration movement. 

Thomas Campbell was born in County Down, Ire- 
land, Feb. I, 1763. His ancestors were from western 
Scotland, and were probably of the Campbells of Argyle- 
shire, and hence he was well born, a fact not less valuable 
in men than in animals. His grandfather, Thomas 
Campbell, was born in the same county, and died at the 
remarkable age of 105. His father, Archibald, an eccen- 
tric genius, but a fine character, was a British soldier, 
and fought under Wolfe at Quebec. At that time he 
was a Catholic, but later he became a member of the 
Church of England, and so continued till his death. He 
gave good educations to his four sons — Thomas, James, 
Archibald and Enos. 

Mr. Campbell was by nature intensely religious. The 
formality and stiffness of his father's church were re- 
pulsive to him, and his soul-hunger sent him to the 
Seceder Presbyterians, who seemed to be more devo- 
tional. At an early age he became anxious about his 
salvation, and this anxiety increased with his years, and 
became so intense as to give him much trouble. He 
prayed earnestly for those mysterious tokens of forgive- 
ness then regarded as a part of every genuine conver- 
sion, but they came not. He turned to pious friends for 



THOMAS CAMPBELL 71 

help, and still failed. But, finally, with a complete sur- 
render to Christ, his doubts and fears fled, and his soul 
was filled with peace and joy. 

When twenty-four years of age he felt a strong de- 
sire to preach, and, as a dutiful son, he made known his 
desire to his father, and sought his approval. The old 
gentleman, who did not appreciate his change of 
churches, discouraged him, and quaintly remarked that 
he preferred to remain in the Church of England, and 
'^serve God according to act of Parliament.'' But after- 
wards he gave his consent, and Thomas, aided financially 
by generous friends, entered Glasgow University to pre- 
pare for his life-work. And after completing the univer- 
sity course, he entered the theological school of the 
Seceders at Whithouse ; and when this work was finished 
he was licensed to preach as a ''probationer," and served 
such congregations as had no regular ministers. 

Mr. Campbell continued in this preliminary capacity 
until he was called to a permanent work at Ahorey, four 
miles from the city of Armagh. He located on a farm 
near Rich Hill, about ten miles from the flourishing 
town of Newry. He was now thirty-five, and nearing 
the prime of his splendid manhood. He remained with 
this church nine years, and so tender and strong were 
the ties betwen preacher and people that there was deep 
sorrow when he left them for America. The old stone 
building, thirty by sixty feet, still stands after more than 
a hundred years, and the congregation continues to wor- 
ship in it. It has been reroofed in slate, and is heated 
by a modern hot-water system. A stone stairway on the 
outside, over the front door, leads into the gallery. A 
country churchyard, neatly kept, surrounds the ancient 
structure. One of the preachers who succeeded Mr. 
Campbell, after a ministry of forty-five years, died re- 



72 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

cently, and his body rests hard by the place of his hfe's 
labors. 

To the millions who believe that the Campbells were 
raised up of God for a special work, this spot is little 
less than holy ground. Here the father spent almost a 
decade of his fruitful life — formative years when the 
seeds of future harvests v/ere being sowed, and the com- 
pass for future sailing was being adjusted. And it was 
here that the religious life of the son began. Speaking 
of this experience, he says: ''Finally, after many strug- 
gles, I was enabled to put my trust in the Saviour, and 
to feel my reliance on him as the only Saviour of sin- 
ners.'' 

Mr. Campbell was one of the most popular preachers 
of his day. His strong mind, his liberal culture, his wide 
reading, his familiarity with the Scriptures, and his deep 
devotion, made him a general favorite. His sermons for 
the most part were generalizations, covering wide fields 
of thought and history, with the results grouped under 
a few general heads. It was a liberal education to attend 
his ministry. Though often condemning error, his sweet- 
ness of spirit prevented the alienation of the man con- 
demned. He possessed in rich abundance the genial and 
pleasing qualities characteristic of the Irish people, and 
his piety and purity often reminded friends of the be- 
loved apostle John. He lived close to God, and, like 
one who dwells among roses, the fragrance of his asso- 
ciation was evident to all. His son said of him: 'T never 
knew a man of whom it could be said with more assur- 
ance that he walked with God/' 

His kindness and sympathy were prominent in his 
character. He loved all men regardless of religious dif- 
ferences, for he saw in all the stamp of the Divine, and he 
was ever ready to say : 



THOMAS CAMPBELL 73 

"For good ye are, and bad, and like the coins, 
Some true, some light, but every one of you 
Stamped with the image of the King." 

To such a spirit the divisions among God's people 
were most painful, accompanied as they were generally 
with sectarian bitterness and strife. As an evidence of 
this bitterness, Andrew Hunter, a Seceder, contracted 
to build an Episcopal chapel in Glasgow. His brethren 
were displeased, and they warned him to discontinue 
the work, but he would not. The matter was brought 
before the synod, and it was decided that the building 
of an Episcopal meeting-house was the same as the 
building of the ''high places'' (places of idol worship) 
of the Old Testament, and it was gravely decided that 
the synod was unanimously of the judgment that the 
said Andrew Hunter was highly censurable, and that 
he ought not to be admitted to any of the seals of the 
covenant till he profess his sorrow for the offence and 
scandal that he had given and been guilty of." They 
excommunicated a man for hearing James Haldane and 
Rowland Hill preach. They denounced Whitefield as 
the servant of Satan. 

There were four different bodies of Seceders, all 
holding to the Westminster Confession. Mr. Campbell 
was specially grieved at this, and finally secured a com- 
mittee of consultation at Rich Hill, in October, 1804 (the 
very time when Barton W. Stone and his colaborers in 
America were turning away from sectarianism and or- 
ganizing churches according to the New Testament 
model), which reported propositions of union written 
by himself to the Belfast Synod, and the report was 
favorably received. In March, 1805, a joint meeting was 
held at Lurgan, and the spirit of union was strong on 
both sides. But the General Associate Synod in Scot- 



74 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

land nipped the incipient movement in the bud by its 
dissent, and so the measure failed. 

The year following, Mr. Campbell was sent on a mis- 
sion to the General Synod of Scotland at Glasgow, 
where he presented the case with much force. But the 
synod was unmoved. Some years later, when his son 
was in school here, a gentleman, hearing that he v/as 
a son of Thomas Campbell, said, 'T listened to your 
father in our General Assembly in this city pleading for 
union betwen the Burgers and Anti-Burgers; but while 
he outargued them, they outvoted him." But his labors 
were not lost, for on Sept. 5, 1820, long after the Camp- 
bells had renounced denominationalism and were labor- 
ing for Christian union in the New World, these two 
bodies in Bristol Street Church, Edinburgh, in the very 
house where the division occurred seventy-three years 
before, were united again. It was good for Mr. Camp- 
bell to thus learn early in life the real character of 
division among Christians. 

In June, 1787, when in his twenty-fourth year, 
Thomas Campbell was married to Miss Jane Corneigle, 
a descendant of the famous Huguenots, a beautiful wo- 
man, and richly endowed with the spirit of her noble 
ancestry. She was in every sense worthy of her dis- 
tinguished husband. Their home was a place of prayer, 
and a school where the Scriptures were taught both by 
precept and example. The family altar, morning and 
evening, was never neglected. Each member of the 
family attended church, and on the return home was 
expected to give both the text and leading thoughts of 
the sermon. When the husband was away from home 
the wife presided at the family altar. The son, many 
years later, said : ''To my mother, as well as my father, 
I am indebted for having memorized in early life all the 



THOMAS CAMPBELL 75 

writings of King Solomon and many of the Psalms of 
his father, David. They have not only been written on 
the tablet of my memory, but incorporated with my 
modes of thought and speaking/' 

During his stay at Ahorey Mr. Campbell made the 
acquaintance of the Independents, and he was pleased 
with much of their teachings. After preaching in the 
morning he would often attend their services in Rich 
Hill at night. They v/ere fond of him, and because of 
this night attendance they jocularly called him Nicode- 
mus, ''who came to Jesus by night.'' These people were 
liberal in the use of their house, and thus he had the 
privilege of hearing Rowland Hill, Robert Haldane, 
Alexander Carson and John Walker — all strong men. 
This church originated in the time of Elizabeth, when 
a number of brave Englishmen, exiled by Mary, re- 
turned from Geneva, filled with the Calvinistic and re- 
publican sentiment of that place. In 1566 their numbers 
increased, and they repudiated the Book of Common 
Prayer and substituted the Geneva Service Book. But 
the separation from the Church of England, led by 
Robert Brov/n, did not occur till 1580. He and his fol- 
lowers v/ere driven from England. Many of them went 
to Amsterdam and Lyden, and others, led by Brewster 
and Bradford, came to America in 1617, landing at Plym- 
outh Rock, and founding the colony of Massachusetts. 
It was the spirit of independence and the right of private 
judgment which specially pleased Mr. Campbell, and be- 
came a ruling factor in the work of his life. 

The salary of the Seceder preacher was small, rang- 
ing from $150 to $250 a year, but Mr. Campbell's family 
was increasing, and he was not a success as a farmer, 
so he opened a school, hoping thereby to increase both 
his usefulness and his income. But his health was not 



76 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

equal to the additional labor and the confinement it re- 
quired. He became pale and feeble, and all remedies 
failed to bring relief. Finally his physician told him 
that it was imperative for him to reduce his labors and 
take a long sea voyage. This was a great cross, for he 
was tenderly attached to his church, his school and his 
family. Alexander ofifered to take charge of the school 
and the family. But still the father hesitated, and did 
not decide to go until the son told him that it was his 
purpose when of age to go to America, and advised that 
the father go on now and select a home for them. ' And 
so all preparations were made in a few days, and Mr- 
Campbell bade his beloved church and his loved ones an 
affectionate farewell, and on Apr. 8, 1807, the wind 
favoring, Richardson says: ''The vessel passed out of 
Loch Foyle, rounded Malin-Head, the most northern 
point of Ireland, where Thomas Campbell gazed for the 
last time upon his native shores as they faded from his 
sight in the dim mists of the eastern sky/' 



CHAPTER IX. 

Alexander Campbell. 

Date of Birth — Anecdote of the Cow — A Farmer — 

Conversion — Ca th o licism — D ivisio its — Sh ipzv-reck e d 

— Decided to Preach — University of Glasgow 

— The Haldanes — Breaks with Denomina- 

fionalism. 

The exact date of Alexander Campbell's birth is not 
positively known. This is because the family records 
were lost in the shipwreck when the family first at- 
tempted to reach America. His father, in 1847, gives 
the date as 1786. But at this time he was eighty-four 
years old, and his memory of dates and names was never 
good. There are several strong reasons for believing 
this to be an error, but we will cite only one of these, 
which seems to settle the matter. While a student in 
Glasgow Alexander kept a diary, which begins as fol- 
lows : 'T, Alexander Campbell, in the twentieth year of 
my age, being born on the 12th day of September, 1788, 
do commence a regular diary from the first day of Jan- 
uary, 1809, etc." Richardson, discussing this question, 
says : "Admitting that the family records were lost in 
the shipwreck which occurred but a few weeks previous, 
it is not likely that he would so soon have forgotten the 
year of his birth, especially so near majority — a period 
which young men are wont to mark with accuracy. Be- 
sides, his mother and brothers and sisters were all with 
him, and he had all the means necessary for exact in- 
formation had he felt any doubt on the subject. He 
entered it down carefully, probably because the records 

77 



78 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

had been lost, and the sUght error he makes in using 
the ordinal instead of the cardinal number only seems to 
make the case stronger. He says 'in the twentieth year 
of my age/ when he was in fact in his twenty-first. He 
had been twenty on the twelfth of the preceding Septem- 
ber, and did not, at the moment, notice that he had 
passed into his twenty-first. To say that he had been 
born in 1786 is to suppose that he had come of age more 
than a year ago in Ireland, without knozving anything 
at all about it, and with the family records before him; 
which is an absurd supposition.'' It would seem safe in 
the Hght of this sound reasoning to date his birth Sept. 
12, 1798, the date which he afterward entered in his 
family Bible at Bethany, Va. The place of his birth 
was near Shane's Castle, County Antrim, Ireland. 

His parents were Thomas Campbell and Jane Cor- 
neigle, whose early lives were sketched in the last chap- 
ter. It should be added that the mother was a descendant 
of the French Huguenots, who were driven from their 
native land by the revocation of the Edict of Nantes by 
Louis XIV. They came first to Scotland, and later to 
Ireland, near Lough Neagh, where they devoted them- 
selves to agriculture. They were strict Presbyterians, 
and the Bible had a place in all their schools. It was 
when Mr. Campbell was teaching and preaching in this 
community that he met Miss Corneigle, the only daugh- 
ter of a v/idowed mother. She was tall, graceful, dig- 
nified, modest and retiring in her disposition. She had 
a strong face, with Roman nose and prominent frontal 
development. The mouth and eyes also indicated 
strength of character. In these features her distin- 
guished son bore a striking resemblance to his mother. 
Her fair complexion contrasted well with her dark-brown 
hair, and made her a beautiful young woman. She had 



ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 12 

a good brain, v/ell cultured, and she was noted for devo- 
tion to the Lord. She was twenty-four at the time of 
her marriage. Her son, late in life, spoke of her as 
having a memory well stored with the Scriptures, which 
she could quote and apply with rare skill; of her mental 
independence, which he had never seen surpassed; of 
her devotion to her children, and of her tireless labors 
in their physical, moral, social and spiritual development. 
He said "she made a nearer approximation to the beau 
ideal of a Christian mother" than any woman he ever 
saw. 

Alexander Campbell's youth was spent on a farm 
near Armagh, Rich Hill and Newry, while his father 
preached for the church at Ahorey. It is one of the 
most beautiful sections of Ireland, and well calculated 
to impress for good this bright boy. The fertile soil 
was in a high state of cultivation, the roads were good, 
and the homes of the farmers were comfortable and 
attractive. The face of the country was diversified, and 
pleasing to the eye. V/hen William the Third, advanc- 
ing on Boyne, came near Newry, he was so impressed 
with the scenery that he exclaimed to his officers, "This 
is indeed a country worth fighting for.'' 

He was first in a primary school at Market Hill, 
and next in an academy established by his Uncles Archi- 
bald and Enos at Newry. After this he returned home, 
and his father took charge of his education, and thus 
the broad, strong foundation of his liberal education was 
laid. Like James Mill, who was the teacher of his 
greater son, John Stuart Mill, Thomas Campbell was 
largely the educator of his great son. 

But he was not fond of school. In fact, his intel- 
lectual powers did not strongly manifest themselves 
early in life. He was fond of outdoor sports, and chafed 



so THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

under the restraints of the schoolroom. On one occa- 
sion, when the weather was warm, he sought the shade 
of a tree to prepare his French lesson on ''The Adven- 
tures of Telemachus." Like many another boy, he fell 
asleep and dropped his book, and a hungry cow, brows- 
ing near, devoured it. On reporting his misfortune to his 
father, he was reprimanded, and told that "the cow had 
more French in her stomach that he had in his head," a 
fact which he could not deny. 

His wise father diagnosed his case perfectly and ap- 
plied the right remedy. He saw that the physical wants 
of his son were asserting themselves, and he took away 
his book and gave him a plow. He needed a strong 
body through which his great brain could work, and the 
farm, the best gymnasium in the world, was at hand. 
He knew that a strong rower must have a strong boat. 
Hercules in a frail craft would only hasten its destruc- 
tion by the force of his strokes. 

The father anxiously watched the experiment, for he 
did not want his son to be a farmer ; and when he was 
sixteen he was delighted to detect in his broadrshoul- 
dered, deep-chested, athletic boy an awakening thirst for 
books, and he was sent back to them. He devoured them 
with a relish, and said it was his purpose to become ''one 
of the best scholars in the kingdom." About this time, as 
we have seen, Mr. Campbell left the farm and established 
a high-grade academy at Rich Hill. Here Alexander 
perfected the preliminary English branches, and did such 
work in Latin and Greek as was necessary for matricula- 
tion in the university. His progress was so rapid that, 
in a short time, he became an assistant teacher in the 
growing school. 

While passing through his teens the young man be- 
came deeply interested in spiritual things. He was 



ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 81 

familiar with the Bible, and the plan of salvation re- 
vealed in it, but this did not satisfy him. He was having 
repeated in himself the experience of his father, when 
he sought with so much anxiety the salvation of his 
soul. Like his father, he was expecting some peculiar 
assurance of forgiveness, such as dreams, visions, voices, 
and material impulses, for this was the teaching from 
every pulpit. So great was his solicitude that he be- 
came despondent, and was often seen walking alone in 
the fields, or seeking some secluded spot for prayer. 
Long years afterwards, speaking of this experience, he 
says : 'Trom the time that I could read the Scriptures I 
became convinced that Jesus was the Son of God. I 
was also fully persuaded that I was a sinner, and must 
obtain pardon through the merits of Christ, or be lost 
forever. This caused me great distress of soul, and I 
had much exercise of mind under the awakenings of a 
guilty conscience. Finally, after many strugglings, I 
was enabled to put my trust in the Saviour, and to feel 
my reliance on him as the only Saviour of sinners. From 
the moment I was able to feel this reliance on the Lord 
Jesus Christ, I obtained and enjoyed peace of mind. It 
never entered into my head to investigate the subject of 
baptism, or the doctrines of the creed." This bitter ex- 
perience was to prove invaluable in after years, for he 
was destined to throw a flood of light on the doctrine of 
''assurance,'' and he was now learning how to do it. 

After becoming a member of the church at Ahorey, 
and knowing the desire of his father that he should 
preach, though he had not decided the question, he gave 
special attention to literature on that subject. He was 
astounded to find that the Catholics, though a great peo- 
ple numerically, were, for the most part, ignorant, super- 
stitious and priest-ridden. And the more he studied 



82 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

Romanism and its practical effects upon the people, the 
more he abhorred it — ''a feeling/' says Richardson 
"which remained with him through life/' And just 
here was the beginning of that equipment which made 
him the chamxpion of Protestantism, and led to his great 
debate with Bishop Purcell in Cincinnati, in 1837. 

Episcopalianism impressed him as cold, lordly, aris- 
tocratic, oppressive, and as loving the fashions and 
follies of the world to an extent that piety was well-nigh 
destroyed; and so he turned from it also. But his 
keenest disappointment came from his study of Presby- 
terianism, of which he was a member. He found it 
torn asunder into many divisions, and permeated with a 
party spirit wholly out of harmony with his conception 
of the Christian religion. Here we see the origin of a 
long and laborious life in opposition to divisions among 
the people of God. 

As noted in the previous chapter, Thomas Campbell 
had to go to America in search of health. He left the 
school and family in charge of Alexander, who was 
now nineteen years of age. Pf pleased with the New 
World, the family was to follovv^ soon. He was pleased, 
and so the next fall they attempted to join him in the 
new home. The vessel was wrecked, and for awhile it 
looked as if all were lost. Signals of distress were unan- 
swered, and all expected death at any moment. 'Tt 
was in the intense anguish of this awful hour,'' says 
Grafton, ''that the future of Alexander Campbell was 
forged. Having done what he could for the safety of 
the family, he sat on the stump of a broken mast and 
abandoned himself to reflection. In the near prospect 
of death he awoke to an appreciation of the meaning 
and mission of earthly existence, and to the folly of 
earthly aim and ambition. Life came to him with new 



ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 83 

meaning, and its true object appeared as he had never 
seen it before. Only one motive seemed worthy of 
human effort, and that the salvation of mankind. It 
was then he formed the resolution that, if saved, he 
would give himself wholly to God and his service, and 
spend his entire life as a minister of the Word/' The 
reader will recall the great changes in the lives of Peter 
Waldo and Martin Luther. The sudden death of a com- 
panion at a banquet changed the life of the former, and 
a flash of lightning killing a comrade at his side changed 
the life of the latter. And so now a startling providence, 
bringing this young man face to face with death, is the 
hinge upon which his whole life turns. 

*'God moves in a mysterious way, 
His wonders to perform." 

The season was now far spent, and sea-voyaging was 
dangerous, and it was decided to remain in Scotland till 
the next year, giving Mr. Campbell the long- wished- for 
opportunity of completing his studies in the famous Uni- 
versity of Glasgow\ God was leading him, as he led 
Moses, in a strange way. ''The steps of a good man are 
ordered of the Lord.'' 

His new environment was well calculated to impress 
and inspire the ambitious young student. Glasgow was 
a great city for that day — 114,000 — and was hoary with 
age and rich in the records of twelve centuries. To a 
young man acquainted only with rural and village life, 
these things were of great value. The school was large 
— fifteen hundred students — and the alma mater of his 
father. Professors Young and Jardine, veterans in the 
Faculty, and teachers of his father, were his teachers. 
No wonder that Mr. Campbell, inspired by these sur- 
roundings, and spurred on by an insatiate thirst for knowl- 
edge, made wonderful progress with his studies. As a 



84 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

sample of his work, he was one of the "prize meiV in 
logic under Jardine. But he was physically strong, and 
able to do heavy work, and his every power was taxed 
to the utmost. He rose at four and retired at ten, and 
every minute of the sixteen hours was made to tell for 
good; and he was in the front rank in all his classes. 
In addition to his class-work, he did a vast amount of 
general reading, and defrayed most of his expenses by 
teaching private classes. 

While here Mr. Campbell's religious life was much 
influenced by the Haldanes and their colaborers. Gre- 
ville Ewing, one of the strongest of these men, became 
his close personal friend, and lent largely to this influ- 
ence. Their work thus far was a revival of the influ- 
ences of Luther and Calvin, which had been generally 
forsaken by Protestants. Opposition — from the clergy 
— was so intense that they were forced to organize their 
people into a distinct body; and, guided solely by the 
Bible, of course they adopted the congregational form, 
of church government. Mr. Ewing's large congregation 
soon broke away from the custom of the Scottish Na- 
tional Church of observing the Supper twice a year, and 
introduced its weekly observance. This is a fair sample 
of their efforts to follow apostolic example, and the 
effect on Mr. Campbell was lasting. It was here that 
his convictions against divisions in the church, and his 
innate abhorrence of a dominating clergy, with many 
other kindred things, afterwards so prominent in his 
teachings, were clarified and strengthened. Richardson, 
his biographer, referring to this period, says : 'Tt may 
be regarded as the first phase of that religious reforma- 
tion which he subsequently carried out so successfully 
to its legitimate issues.'' 

An incident, dramatic, but characteristic of this in- 



ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 85 

dependent and courageous young man, occurred at this 
time. Though he was a member of the Seceder Pres- 
byterian Church, yet he was almost ready to cut loose 
from all denominationalism and declare for the one body 
as it was seen in the New Testament. And while in the 
throes of this gigantic mental struggle, the hour for 
the semi-annual communion service arrived. Each com- 
municant was supplied with a little metalic token to show 
that he was entitled to a place at the table. And as the 
emblems were being passed, the painful struggle was 
going on. And just as they reached him the decision 
was made, and, instead of partaking of them, he dropped 
the little metal token in the plate, and its ringing tones, 
like the sound of Luther's hammer nailing the famous 
theses to the door of the Wittenberg Cathedral, an- 
nounced his purpose to separate himself from every- 
thing that tended to the division of God's people, and 
his determination henceforth to live and labor for their 
union in the Christ and on his word. But he made no 
public announcement of his purpose, for it was vital, 
and he was young, and he thought that in a matter of 
such grave importance he should confer with his father 
before the announcement. No greater vow was ever 
made, and never was one more sacredly kept. 



CHAPTER X. 

Old Seed in New Soil. 

Thomas Campbell in America — First Vvork and First 
Trouble — The Man — Condemned by the Synod — 
Breaks zmth D enominationalism — Great Ad- 
dress — Christian Association of Washing- 
ton — First Meeting-ho use. 

Thomas Campbell, after a successful voyage of thirty- 
iive days, landed in Philadelphia, May 27, 1807. This 
was regarded a speedy voyage for that time. When the 
good ship ''Brutus'' sent her passengers down the gang- 
plank, there was not one, so far as we know, who im- 
pressed himself on the bystanders as a man of destiny. 
These bystanders were as blind to the real character 
of these new arrivals as were their ancestors eighteen 
hundred years ago, when a little ship from Troas landed 
at Neapolis, and Paul, for the first time, pressed his 
feet on European soil. But, as there was no one there 
v/ho could foresee what God would do for Europe and 
the world through this modest Asiatic preacher, so no 
one now could divine the destiny of this noble and 
lovely spirit who had just arrived in America. How- 
ever, as in the afterglow the world knew and appre- 
ciated the great apostle, so will that same world yet 
learn to appreciate the labors of this man and his son, 
v/ho was soon to follow. 

Mr. Campbell was fortunate to find the synod of his 
church in session at Philadelphia on his arrival. He 
reported to that body promptly, and was cordially re- 
ceived, and by it was assigned to the Presbytery of 

86 



OLD SEED IN NEW SOIL 87 

Chartiers, and was given work in Washington County, 
Pa. This was choice territory, with Pittsburgh, an im- 
portant city, as its center. Mr. Campbell located in the 
town of Washington, in the county of the same name. 

The ocean voyage had so improved his health that 
he began his labors without delay. His heart was large 
and tender, and he loved all men, and deplored the 
divisions that separated Christians into antagonistic 
sects. In this, sad to say, he was not in harmony with 
all of his people, for the Anti-Burgers were famous 
as one of the "straitest sects'' of the Calvinistic family, 
and he soon got into trouble with them. He found that 
some of his new neighbors, Presbyterians and Inde- 
pendents, were from Ireland, and naturally they were 
drawn very close to each other — so much so that it ex- 
cited the criticism of some of his bigoted brethren. 

Early in his stay in the new field he was sent up 
the Allegheny Valley to hold communion services among 
the Seceders scattered through that region. He found 
many members of other Presbyterian bodies who had 
not, for a long time, had the sacred privileges of the 
Supper, and a man of his type could not fail to invite 
them to join in their services. This was a clear viola- 
tion of "the usages'' of the Seceders, and Mr. Campbell 
was soon called to account for it. Mr. Wilson, a young 
preacher sent with him, said nothing at the time, but 
he made a note of this evidence of unsoundness, and 
at the next meeting of the presbytery reported it to that 
body. The presbytery, already displeased with his liberal 
views, gladly took up the matter, and promptly cen- 
sured him for his conduct. Pie plead, but all in vain, 
that his act was in harmony with the Scriptures. They 
cared far less for the Scriptures than they did for the 

usages of the Seceder Church. 
(4) 



88 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

Mr. Campbell appealed to the Synod of North Amer- 
ica, their highest church court; for, while he was as 
tender and gentle as a woman, and an ardent lover of 
peace, he was not the man to submit passively to a 
wrong which robbed him of his rights as a preacher, 
and took from his brethren sacred privileges vouch- 
safed to them in the word of God. This fine trait in 
Mr. Campbell's character is generally overlooked. He 
was like Melancthon in courtesy and kindness, but when 
the occasion demanded it he was as courageous as 
Luther. Here he was a stranger in a strange land, but 
he acted as if he was in the midst of a multitude of old 
friends, tried and true. 

The real Thomas Campbell is just now coming into 
view. We have not seen him before. In fact, he has 
not been himself before. Hitherto he has been a young 
man at the threshold of life, but now he is forty-four, 
with all his powers well developed, and with an environ- 
ment which called them into active exercise. All that 
has gone before is preliminary and preparatory, but 
now life in all its stern reality faces him. Until now he 
has been a soldier in the camp of instruction; but hence- 
forth he is to be in the midst of a battle furious and 
long. His Hfe-work — the restoration of primitive Chris- 
tianity — is being manifested in clearest outline, and, like 
a real hero, he confers not with flesh and blood, but re- 
sponds at once to duty's call. 

It is well that we pause a moment here and look 
carefully at the man at this crucial hour. He is in the 
prime of life — old enough to be free from the errors 
of youth and young enough not to be enfeebled by age. 
He is of average size, five feet and eight inches, with a 
body well knit and strong. His forehead is broad and 
high, his eyes a bluish gray, his complexion ruddy with 



OLD SEED IN NEW SOIL 89 

the tint of health. His face is thoughtful and wreathed 
in kindness and indicative of mental power and robust 
common sense. His head is shapely, and ''might serve 
as a model for size and conformation. '^ He is unworldly, 
seeming never to think of material wealth, and modest 
almost to a fault. He is one of the best-bred men of 
his day, and could mingle with ease and grace with the 
rich and the poor, and the cultured and the crude. He 
is a Christian gentleman of the highest type. In speech 
and in writing he never uses sarcasm, irony or ridicule. 
His sympathies are as broad as humanity, and, while he 
ever strives to reform the wrong-doer, he never re- 
proaches him. His personal piety keeps him in close and 
constant communion with God. His dress is neat and 
tasty, befitting an elegant gentleman. *'His whole pres- 
ence," says Chilton, ''is sufifused with a deep religious 
feeling; and as he stands before us speaking with a 
slight Irish accent in a full, round voice, his face glow- 
ing with intelligence and animation, he is an exceedingly 
handsome man, truly the flower of an old stock." 

His appeal to the supreme synod was masterly. 
There was nothing in it vindictive, haughty or obsti- 
nate, but in calmness, courtesy and courage he plead for 
religious liberty v/ithin the limits of the Word. He re- 
minds us of Luther at the Diet of Worms, fervently ap- 
pealing to God's book, but condemned by the voice of 
men. "How great the injustice," he said, "how aggra- 
vated the injury will appear, to thrust out from com- 
munion a Christian brother, a fellow-minister, for say- 
ing and doing none other things than those which our 
divine Lord and his apostles have taught. Because I 
have no confidence in my own infallibility, or in that 
of others, I absolutely refuse, as inadmissible and schis- 
matic, the introduction of human opinions and human 



90 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

inventions in the faith and worship of the church. It 
is, therefore, because I plead the cause of the Scrip- 
tural and apostolic worship of the church, in opposition 
to the various errors and schisms v/hich have so awfully 
corrupted and divided it, that the brethren of the union 
feel it difficult to admit me as their fellow-laborer in 
that blessed work/' 

But his appeal, though true, tender, powerful, and 
according to the Book, was in vain. The presbytery 
removed the censure of the lower court in form, but re- 
affirmed it in fact by holding that there were sufficient 
grounds for censure, and refused to condemn the action 
of the presbytery, as requested by Mr. Campbell. There 
was now but one thing for him to do in preserving his 
self-respect and loyalty to his convictions : declare his 
independence of all human tribunals, and this he did, 
saying, ''Henceforth I decline all ministerial connection 
with, or subjection to, the Associate Synod of North 
America.'' 

What it cost Mr. Campbell, the sensitive, refined and 
loving Christian gentleman, to take this painful step at 
this time, when almost alone in the w^orld, we can never 
know; but, like Paul, he was ready to give up every- 
thing — even life itself — for the truth as he saw it in the 
Bible. 

W. T. Moore, commenting on this incident, asks : 
''Was there a providence in all this? What if he had 
remained with the Seceders? Would he have been able 
to lead them out of their narrow channels into the 
broader views for which he himself contended? No one 
will believe that he could ever have done this. History 
furnishes many examples similar to this. It is only nec- 
essary to refer to the case of the American colonies. 
Perhaps this country would have continued to be a sort 



OLD SEED IN NEW SOIL 91 

of vassal to England had it not been for the oppressive 
measures which compelled the separation." 

His withdrawal from the Seceders did not lessen the 
labors of Mr. Campbell. He continued to preach mainly 
in the homes of his friends, and the people rallied round 
him — so many that it was decided to have a meeting to 
discuss the question of their future course. A large 
audience accordingly gathered at the home of Abraham 
Altars, a friendly outsider, and Mr. Campbell explained 
the object of the meeting, and addressed them at length 
on the plans of the future. He made a great speech, 
exalting the Bible as the all-sufficient and the alone- 
sufficient rule of faith and practice, and reached his 
climax in this great sentence, ''When the Scriptures 
speak, we speak; and when the Scriptures are silent, we 
are silent." The sequel shows this to have been one of 
the most important conferences ever held on the Amer- 
ican continent. 

At the conclusion of this marvelous address a solemn 
silence pervaded the audience. The impression made 
was wonderful. J. B. Briney says: ''They were passing 
through birth-throes, and ineffaceable impressions were 
being engraved on their minds and hearts. It was a 
time for profound meditation and few words." And 
Dr. Richardson says: "It was from the moment when 
these significant words were uttered and accepted that 
the more intelligent ever afterwards dated the formal 
and actual commencement of the Reformation." But 
when the silence was finally broken, there v/as intense 
excitement. Andrew Monroe, a far-seeing Scotchman, 
was the first to speak. "Mr. Campbell," said he, "if we 
adopt that as a basis, there is an end to infant baptism." 
Mr. Campbell answered: "Of course, if infant baptism 
is not found in the Scriptures, we can have nothing to 



92 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

do with it/' At this, Thomas Acheson, a man of warm 
impulses, arose, and in much excitement exclaimed: 'T 
hope I may never see the day when my heart will re- 
nounce the blessed saying of the Scripture, 'Suffer little 
children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of 
such is the kingdom of heaven/ " And he burst into 
tears, and was about to leave the room, when James 
Foster said to him : ''Mr. Acheson, in the portion of 
Scripture you have quoted there is no reference what- 
ever to infant baptism/' 

These were indeed trying times, when the Lord was 
passing his people through the fires to see what kind of 
stuflf they were made of. Mr. Campbell had done better 
than he knew. He had announced a far-reaching prin- 
ciple, but he did not for years fully appreciate the wide- 
ness of its scope. He did not think it would demand 
the giving up of either afifusion or infant sprinkling, but 
thought they would be treated as matters of forbear- 
ance, leaving every one to act as he chose in regard to 
them. So reluctant was he to surrender the cherished 
custom of baptizing babies that he actually became angry 
when James Foster pressed him to the wall with the logic 
of his position. But whether he understood it or not, 
he was loyal to it even when it demanded the sacrifice 
of right hands and right eyes. 

The enunciation of this great principle was a mighty 
stride forward. It marks an epoch in religious history. 
The clouds were rifted, and the guiding star of the new 
movement for the first time shone with clearness on the 
pathway of this unconscious reformer. The exact time 
had come for this declaration — not a moment too early, 
not a moment too late. The soil at last is ready for the 
seed, and the sower is there to scatter it. He was not 
permitted to sow it in the Old World, where the soil 



OLD SEED IN NEW SOIL 93 

was preoccupied, and where monarchies were the fa- 
vorite governments of men, but was sent across the 
Atlantic to deposit it in the virgin soil of the greatest re- 
public beneath the stars. 

On Aug. 17, 1809, another important meeting was 
held. It was evident to all that organization was essen- 
tial to effectiveness, and hence this gathering on the 
headwaters of Buffalo Creek, where it was determined 
to organize, not a church, but 'The Christian Associa- 
tion of Washington.'' A committee of twenty-one was 
appointed to recommend the best means of promoting 
the organization. ''This act and this date," says C. L. 
Loos, "may be regarded as the actual beginning of our 
reformation in an organized form." 

The next step was the building of the first meeting- 
house. It was a plain log building, to be used for both 
school and church purposes. It was erected on the Sin- 
clair farm, three miles from Mt. Pleasant, on the road 
leading from Washington to that place. Near here 
Mr. Campbell occupied the "prophet's chamber" in the 
home of a farmer, whose name was Welch. Here in this 
quiet place the studious preacher prepared his sermons. 
It was in this little room also that he wrote the report 
for the committee of twenty-one. When completed, the 
committee was called together, and on Sept. 7, 1809, it 
was unanimously adopted, and ordered published to the 
world. 



CHAPTER XI. 

The Declaration and Address. 

The Declaration — The Address — The Appendix. 

''The Declaration and Address/' written by Thomas 
Campbell, and published to the world by the Christian 
Association of Washington, is one of the most remark- 
able productions of its kind, and we would like to give 
it in full, but space forbids. It covers fifty-four closely 
printed pages, and contains more than thirty thousand 
words. But we give an analysis, though brief, which 
conveys a good view of the production, and ask the 
reader, if interested, to secure a copy in full for his 
library. It is a threefold address, containing the Decla- 
ration, the Address and the Appendix. 

THE declaration. 

I. Desire to restore unity , peace and purity to the 
church. 'Tired and sick of bitter jarrings and janglings 
of a party spirit, we desire to be at rest; and were it 
possible, we would also desire to adopt such measures 
as would give rest to our brethren throughout all the 
churches, as would restore unity, peace and purity to the 
whole church of God." 

2. Means to this end. "Rejecting human opinions and 
the inventions of men as of authority, or as having any 
place in the church of God, we might forever cease 
from further contentions about such things; returning 
to and holding fast by the original standard ; taking the 
divine Word alone for our rule ; the Holy Spirit for our 
teacher and guide; and Christ alone, as exhibited in the 

94 



THE DECLARATION AND ADDRESS 95 

Wordj for our salvation ; that, by so doing, we may be at 
peace among ourselves, follow peace with all men, and 
holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord/' 

3. Disclaimer. ''This society by no means considers 
itself a church, nor do the members consider themselves 
as standing in that relation; but merely as voluntary 
advocates of church reformation ; and as possessing the 
powers common to all individuals who may please to 
associate themselves for any lawful purpose; namely, 
the disposal of their time, counsel and property as they 
may see cause/' 

Let it be noted here that the purpose of this associa- 
tion was union, and not division. Like Wesley, they 
would work from within, and not from without, for the 
purification of the church. 

THE ADDRESS. 

Preliminary to the thirteen propositions following, 
there is a discussion of the character of the Christian 
religion, and the spirit of the appeal made. A single quo- 
tation will reveal the clear thought and sweet spirit here : 

''It is to us a pleasing consideration that all the 
churches of Christ which mutually acknowledge each 
other as such, are not only agreed in the great doctrines 
of faith and holiness, but are also materially agreed as 
to the positive ordinances of the gospel institution ; so 
that our differences, at most, are about the things in 
which the kingdom of God does not consist; that is, 
about matters of private opinion and human invention. 
What a pity that the kingdom of God should be divided 
about such things ! Who, then, would not be the first 
among us to give up human inventions in the worship 
of God, and to cease from imposing his private opinions 
upon his brethren, that our breaches might thus be 



96 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

healed? Who would not willingly conform to the 
original pattern laid down in the New Testament for 
this happy purpose? Our dear brethren of all denomi- 
nations will please to consider that we have our educa- 
tional prejudices and particular customs to struggle 
against as well as they. But this we do sincerely declare, 
that there is nothing that we have hitherto received as 
matters of faith or practice, which is not expressly 
taught in the word of God, either in express terms or by 
approved precedent, that we would not heartily relin- 
quish, so that we might return to the original unity 
of the Christian church; and in this happy unity enjoy 
full communion with all our brethren in peace and 
charity. The like dutiful condescension we expect of 
all that are seriously impressed with a sense of the duty 
they owe to God, to each other, and to their perishing 
brethren of mankind. . . . With you all we desire to 
unite in the bonds of Christian unity — Christ alone being 
the Head; his word the rule; an explicit belief of, and 
conformity to, it in all things the terms. More than this 
you will not require of us; and less we can not require 
of you.'' 

In all literature nothing can be found clearer in 
thought, gentler or more considerate in expression, and 
freer from the touch and taint of sectarianism than 
this. 

Then follow the itemized propositions, preceded, how- 
ever, by this precautionary word: ''Let none imagine 
that the enjoined propositions are intended as an over- 
ture toward a new creed, or stand of the church. Noth- 
ing can be further from our intention. They are merely 
designed to open the way that we may come fairly and 
firmly to original ground upon clear and certain prom- 
ises, and take up things just as the apostles left them. 



THE DECLARATION AND ADDRESS 97 

Having said so much to solicit attention and prevent 
mistake, we submit as follows : 

''i. That the church of Christ on earth is essentially, 
intentionally, and constitutionally one ; consisting of all 
those in every place that profess faith in Christ and 
obedience to him in all things according to the Scrip- 
tures, and that manifest the same by their tempers and 
conduct. 

''2. That, although the church must necessarily exist 
in distinct societies, locally separate one from another, 
yet there ought to be no schisms, no uncharitable divi- 
sions among them. They ought to receive each other 
as Christ hath received them to the glory of God. And 
for this purpose they ought all to walk by the same rule, 
to mind and speak the same thing, and to be perfectly 
joined together in the same mind and judgment. 

''3. That, in order to this, nothing ought to be in- 
culcated as articles of faith, nor required as terms of 
communion, but what is expressly taught in the word of 
God . . . either in expressed terms, or by approved 
precedent. 

''4. That, although the Old and New Testaments are 
inseparably connected, making one perfect revelation of 
the divine will, for the edification and salvation of the 
church, and therefore in that respect can not be sepa- 
rated, yet as to what directly belongs to their immediate 
object, the New Testament is a perfect constitution for 
the worship, discipline and government of the New Tes- 
tament church, and as perfect a rule for the particular 
duties of its members as the Old Testament was for the 
Old Testament church. 

''5. That with respect to the commands and ordi- 
nances of our Lord, about which the Scriptures are 
silent as to the express time or manner of performance. 



98 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

if any such there be, no human authority has power to 
interfere in order to supply the supposed deficiency by 
making laws for the church. Much less has any human 
authority power to impose new commands or ordinances 
not enjoined by the Lord. Nothing ought to be received 
into the faith or worship of the church, or be made a 
term of communion among Christians, that is not as old 
as the New Testament. 

''6. That, although inferences and deductions from 
Scripture premises, when fairly inferred, may be truly 
called the doctrine of God's word, yet they are not bind- 
ing upon the consciences of Christians further than they 
perceive the connection, for their faith must not stand in 
the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. 

''7. That although doctrinal exhibitions of divine 
truths, and defensive testimonies in opposition to prevail- 
ing errors, be expedient; and the more full and explicit 
they be for those purposes the better; yet as these must 
be in a great measure the effect of human reasoning, 
they ought not to be made terms of Christian com- 
munion, unless we suppose, what is contrary to fact, that 
none have a right to the communion of the church but 
such as possess a clear and decisive judgment, or are 
come to a high degree of doctrinal information ; whereas 
the church from the beginning did, and ever will, con- 
sist of little children, and young men, as well as fathers. 

''8. That as it is not necessary that persons should 
have a particular knowledge or a distinct apprehension 
of all divinely revealed truths in order to entitle them to 
a place in the church; neither should they, for this pur- 
pose, be required to make a profession more extensive 
than their knowledge ; but that, on the contrary, they have 
a due measure of Scriptural knowledge respecting their 
lost condition, and of the way of salvation through 



THE DECLARATION AND ADDRESS 99 

Jesus Christ, accompanied with a profession of faith in, 
and obedience to, him in all things according to his Word, 
is all that is necessary to qualify them for admission 
into the church. 

''9. That all that are enabled to make such a pro- 
fession, and to manifest it in their conduct, should con- 
sider each other as the saints of God, should love each 
other as brethren, children of the same family and 
Father, temples of the same Spirit, members of the same 
body, subjects of the same grace, objects of the same 
divine love, bought with the same price, and joint-heirs 
of the same inheritance. Whom God hath thus joined 
together no man should dare to put asunder. 

''10. That division among Christians is a horrid evil, 
fraught with many evils. It is anti-Christian, as it de- 
stroys the visible unity of the body of Christ; as if he 
were divided against himself, excluding and excom- 
municating a part of himself. It is anti-Scriptural, as 
being strictly prohibited by his sovereign authority; a 
direct violation of his expressed command. It is anti- 
natural, as it excites Christians to condemn, to hate and 
oppose one another, who are by the highest and most 
endearing obligations to love each other as brethren, 
even as Christ has loved them. 

''11. That (in some instances) a partial neglect of the 
revealed will of God, and (in others) an assumed au- 
thority for making human opinions and human inven- 
tions a term of communion by introducing them into the 
constitution, faith or worship of the church, are, and 
have been, the immediate, obvious and universally ac- 
krtowledged causes of all the corruptions and divisions 
that ever have taken place in the church of God. 

"12. That all that is necessary to the highest state of 
perfection and purity in the church is, first, that none be 



100 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

received as members but such as, having that due meas- 
ure of Scriptural knowledge described above, do profess 
their faith in Christ and obedience to him in all things 
according to the Scriptures ; nor, secondly, that any can 
be retained in her communion longer than they continue 
to manifest the reality of their profession by their con- 
duct; thirdly, that her ministers, duly and Scripturally 
qualified, inculcate none other things than those very 
articles of faith and holiness expressly revealed in the 
word of God. Lastly, that in all their administration 
they keep close by the observances of all the ordinances, 
after the example of the primitive church, exhibited in 
the New Testament, vvithout any additions whatsoever of 
human opinions or inventions of men. 

''13. That if any circumstantials indispensably neces- 
sary to the observance of divine ordinances be not found 
upon the page of revelation, such, and such only, as are 
absolutely necessary for this purpose should be adopted, 
under the title of human expedients, without any pre- 
tence to a more sacred origin, so that any subsequent 
alteration or difference in the observance of these things 
might produce no contention nor division in the church/' 

THE APPENDIX. 

The Appendix is an effort to make absolutely plain 
every point in the foregoing at all liable to be misunder- 
stood. 

This great document shows its author a man of great 
head and heart, for none but a great head could have 
conceived it, and none but a great heart could have so 
sv/eetened it with the spirit of the Master. It became 
the magna chart a of the great Restoration movement 
which followed. It might also be called a Declaration 
of Independence, for, like the one written by Thomas 



THE DECLARATION AND ADDRESS 101 j 

j 

Jefferson, it was a protest against spiritual tyranny, and . 

a plea for larger liberty in the realm of the soul. So j 

fully and so fairly does it cover the questions involved ! 

that no attempt was ever made by the opposers of the \ 
movement to controvert a single position which it con- 
tains. 



CHAPTER XII. 

Father and Son Together in America. 

The Meeting — Special Bible Study — A. Campbell's First 

Sermon — Pittsburgh Synod — Son Defends Father — 

Change in Leadership — Brush Run Church. 

On Aug. 3, 1809, more than two years after the de-' 
parture of Thomas Campbell for America, the family, in 
charge of Alexander, his son, embarked. Their long, 
stormy and dangerous voyage of forty-six days termi- 
nated in New York Harbor, September 29. After two 
days of sight-seeing and preparation for the inland 
journey, they departed. A brief stop was made at Phila- 
delphia, after which they began the long overland trip 
of three hundred and fifty miles across the mountains 
to Washington, Pa., the home of the father. 

The trip was rough, but it was of thrilling interest 
to all. Ireland is almost destitute of woods, and when 
they first entered the vast forests the impression was 
profound. The lofty trees, the tall mountains, the sing- 
ing birds, the rippling streams, the bracing atmosphere, 
and the virgin soil — all helped the young man to realize 
that he was actually in the New World, the land of 
liberty rescued from bondage by Washington and his 
braves — a land for which his heart had yearned since 
boyhood. 

The father was so anxious to see his loved ones that 

he could not wait, but started on to intercept them on the 

way. Of this the family was ignorant, and they did 

not expect to see him till the end of the journey. But 

to their joy the meeting came sooner than expected, and 
102 



FATHER AND SON TOGETHER 105 

it was most tender and affecting. When little Jane was 
presented to him, so changed by the smallpox that he 
would scarcely have recognized her, he pressed her to 
his bosom and said, ''And is this my little white-head?" 
a term of Irish tenderness. 

During the three days of travel the father and son 
had time to discuss the important things which had tran- 
spired since their separation, the most important of which 
was the publication of the ''Declaration and Address" 
spoken of in the preceding chapter. Thomas Campbell 
had the proof-sheets with him, and it thus happened to 
be the first thing read by the son in America. He was 
delighted with it, and after a later careful study of it, 
he said to his father that he proposed to devote his life 
to the propagation of the principles contained in it. But 
he was grieved to hear of the bitterness of sectarian 
opposition, so bitter than his peace-loving and amiable 
father had been forced to withdraw from the Seceders, 
and was now at work independently with such as shared 
•his views. So vicious were his enemies that he told his 
son that "nothing but the law of the land had kept his 
head upon his shoulders." But he regarded it as the 
work of Providence, bringing them both by different 
ways to the same conclusion ; viz. : that sectarianism was 
fundamentally wrong, and that a divided church could 
never successfully present the unity taught by the Sa- 
viour. The circumstances under which they both reached 
this conclusion were wholly different, and during the 
time they had no conference with each other. The 
father, while actively preaching to men, is forced by 
the stern logic of facts to this belief; and the son, while 
studying the Book, and observing the narrowness and 
bitterness of a divided church, is reluctantly driven to 
the same conviction. Each up to this time had half 



104 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

feared to make known to the other these mighty inner 
revolutions, and their joy was all the greater, and their 
courage and conviction the stronger, when they saw in 
it what they believed to be the leadings of the Father 
whom they loved and served. 

In the new home in Washington, Pa., a village of 
five hundred inhabitants, this affectionate family was 
once more happily reunited, and Alexander, under the 
direction of his father, began anew the study of the 
Bible. He was told to ''divest himself of all earthly con- 
cern, to retire to his chamber, to take up the divine Book 
and make it the subject of his study for at least six 
months;" and he did so with earnest zeal, and made 
wonderful progress in Scriptural knowledge. 

When in his twenty-second year, Alexander, who had 
never taken part in public worship, at the request of his 
father, closed one of his meetings with an exhortation. 
Mr. Campbell was so pleased that he was heard in an 
undertone to say, ''Very well; very well.'' On July 15, 
1810, when in his twenty-second year, Alexander Camp- 
bell preached his first sermon. He preached it to a large 
audience assembled in a grove near their home. The 
sermon was carefully prepared, and was delivered with 
eloquence and force; and at the close many were heard 
to say that he was a better preacher than his father, 
which was a high compliment, for all regarded Thomas 
Campbell as a great preacher. The text was : "Whoso- 
ever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I 
will liken him to a wise man who built his house on a 
rock" (Matt. 7:24-27). This text was in perfect har- 
mony with the strong life-current now beginning to flow 
in this gifted young man : a call to the world to hear and 
heed the teachings of Christ rather than those of men. 
Soon after this he preached the first sermon at Brush 



FATHER AND SON TOGETHER 105 

Run, their first congregation. His text here also was 
strikingly prophetic. It was Job 8:7: ''Though thy be- 
ginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly in- 
crease.'' How literally true has this precious promise 
proven in the history of their work! At that time they 
were indeed a ''feeble folk,'' only a handful, but at the 
close of a single century they have grown into a great 
army of a million and a half, and have become one of 
mightiest religious forces of the land. 

The "Declaration and Address" in its effect on the 
people was a disappointment to Thomas Campbell. His 
arguments, overtures and entreaties, though kind in 
spirit and thoroughly Scriptural, seemed powerless 
among them. Their eyes were closed and their hearts 
were indifferent. They neither accepted nor rejected 
them, but let them severely alone. And the "Association" 
seemed drifting in the direction of a distinct religious 
body. It began to look as if there was danger of their 
becoming another sect among sects, and putting them- 
selves in the ridiculous attitude of one sect pleading for 
the destruction of all others. Such a thought was ab- 
horrent to Mr. Campbell. And while he was worrying 
over it he was solicited to form a union with another 
Presbyterian body. Alexander opposed it privately, but 
felt that it was not the proper thing at that time to make 
his opposition public. His age, and the respect he had 
for his father, restrained him. And so, on Oct. 4, 1810, 
his father, on behalf of the "Association," applied for 
mem.bership in the Pittsburgh Synod. He was careful 
to so define his position that there could be no mis- 
understanding. They were not a church, but only a 
society formed for the purpose of promoting Christian 
union, and they proposed submission to the synod only 
so far as it was in harmony with the Scriptures. They 



106 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

were not to become Presbyterians, but were simply Chris- 
tions co-operating with a Presbyterian Church. They 
were neither ready to lose their identity, nor to modify 
their high aim. 

Under these conditions, of course they were rejected. 
'Tor a party to have admitted into its bosom those who 
were avowedly bent on the destruction of partyism," says 
Richardson, ''would have been suicidal. It would have 
been only to repeat in another form, and with a full 
knowledge of the object in view, the story of the wooden 
horse of Troy, and to have the gates of its well-walled 
ecclesiastical c!ity thrown open to its enemies." But Mr. 
Campbell's dread of adding another to the long list of 
denominations, for the moment, seemed to blind him to 
the absurdity of the situation. 

Had the synod been as courteous in its refusal as Mr. 
Campbell was in his application, the sequel would have 
been different, but it went out of its way to say some 
ugly things. It was resolved ''that however specious the 
plan of the Christian Association, and however seducing 
its professions, as experience of the effects of similar 
projects in other parts has evinced their baleful ten- 
dency and destructive operations on the interests of re- 
ligion by promoting division instead of union, by de- 
grading the ministerial character, by providing free ad- 
mission to errors in doctrine, and to corruption in disci- 
pline, whilst a nominal approbation of the Scriptures 
as the only standard of truth may be professed, the 
Synod is constrained to disapprove the plan and its native 
effects. And further, for the above, and many other 
important reasons, Mr. Campbell's request can not be 
granted.'' 

Of course no self-respecting man, however averse to 
controversy, could remain silent under these circum- 



FATHER AND SON TOGETHER 107 

stances, and so Mr. Campbell demanded to know what 
was included in the omnibus phrase, "many other im- 
portant reasons/' He was assured that no immorality 
was implied, but that it included the fact that he had 
taught that there were opinions in the Confession of 
Faith not found in the Bible; that infant baptism was 
not authorized by the Scriptures ; that he opposed human 
creeds, and that he encouraged his son to preach with- 
out any regular authority. 

When he saw that his character was not attacked, 
Mr. Campbell was disposed to pass the matter by with- 
out comment. But not so with his son. His opposition 
to this whole affair in the beginning now being vindi- 
cated, he felt that the time for passive submission had 
passed, and that something aggressive was demanded. 
He was young, and his blood was hot, and he was un- 
v/illing to stand idly by and allow the synod to go out 
of its way to mistreat his honored father and their 
brethren. And though inexperienced in religious 
polemics, like David, he was ready to meet any Goliath 
who stood in the way of the right. And, accordingly, 
at the semi-annual meeting of the Association, now near 
at hand, he addressed a large audience, setting forth in 
detail its spirit and purpose. 

Little did the synod think that this bold youth who 
so readily took up the gauntlet which they had thrown 
down, would soon meet and overthrow the greatest 
champions of denominationalism and infidelity in the 
land. They never dreamed of his extraordinary power. 
''But,'' as Grafton says, "Alexander Campbell was no 
ordinary young man. Like Minerva, who stepped full- 
grown from the brain of Jove, he stepped upon the plat- 
form an accomplished speaker, a master of assemblies, 
already possessed with the power to sway men's hearts." 



108 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

And at the close of this great address the positions of the 
father and son are reversed. Until this time Thomas 
Campbell was the recognized leader. It was his voice, 
like another John the Baptist, which first pointed out 
the sin of sectarianism, and the way to union in the 
Christ. It Vv^as his pen which produced the ''Declara- 
tion and Address,'' a production more powerful to-day 
than when written. But henceforth the son, without 
edict of church or council, and without any agreement 
between the two, takes the place of the father. The day 
had come when the opposition had grown so strong and 
vicious that a more aggressive leader was needed, and 
the father instinctively stepped to the rear and threw his 
mantle over the shoulders of his son. 

This change came in the natural order of things. 
Thomas Campbell was by nature and training the man 
to discover the need of the religious world, and to pre- 
cribe the remedy for its wrong. But it required one 
less fearful of conflict, and less concerned about imme- 
diate results, to apply the remedy. In a word, a bold, 
daring, aggressive leader was needed, and his son Alex- 
ander was the man for the hour. But does this reflect 
unfavorably on the father? Surely not. Does it reflect 
unfavorably on the surveyor of some great highway that 
another is called upon to build the road? Is John the 
Baptist any less a hero because as the ''morning star" he 
was eclipsed by the "Sun of righteousness"? Is it 
not honor enough for the father that he wrought out 
the platform of the greatest religious movement since 
the apostolic age, and trained a son to present it suc- 
cessfully to men? It was he, and not his son, who gave 
birth to the movement, and marked out the line of its 
progress. He was its creator and moulding genius. It 
was he who gave its magnetic watchwords in the "Dec- 



FATHER AND SON TOGETHER 109» 

laration and Address/' It was God's plan that the father 
should lay the foundation, and the son should build 
thereon. 

After the failure of this well-meant effort there was 
nothing to do but organize a church, which they called 
''Brush Run," as we have already seen, *'a veritable 
church in the wilderness/' They did this not of choice, 
but of compulsion. They could not otherwise enjoy 
their rightful privileges, or perform their sacred obliga- 
tions. The organization took place May 4, 181 1, with 
thirty members. Thomas Campbell was elected elder; 
John Dawson, George Sharp, William Gilchrist and 
James Foster were elected deacons, and Alexander 
Campbell was ordained as a preacher, the ordination 
taking place Jan. i, 1812. This heroic little band, our 
Pilgrim Fathers, saw not fully the way of their going, 
but well they knew their Guide. Two ruling principles 
guided them: the supreme authority of the Scriptures, 
and the union of the people of God. Other questions 
which afterwards loomed up large had hardly been 
thought of at that time. The plan of salvation, the 
question of baptism, etc., they had not thoroughly 
studied. But leaven was in the lump, and time would 
do the rest. It is not so important where a man is, as 
the direction in which he is headed. These men were a 
long way from the New Testament church, but they 
were headed in that direction. 

At their first meeting, on June 16, Alexander Camp- 
bell preached, and the Lord's Supper followed. But it 
was noticed that several of the members did not take 
the emblems. Inquiry as to the cause of this disclosed the 
fact that since they had not been baptized they felt 
that they had no right to them. It was further dis- 
covered that nothing but immersion would satisfy them. 



110 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

Neither of the Campbells had been immersed, and as 
their plan was to make this a question of forbearance, 
allowing each one to settle it for himself without dis- 
cussion, they were immersed in Buffalo Creek. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Settling the Baptismal Question. 

A, Campbell's Marriage — A Revolutionary Baby — The 

Campbells Immersed — Their Example Contagious 

— Progress — Reasons for Not Being a 

'Tarty Man/' 

A most important event in the life of Alexander 
Campbell occurred on March 13, 181 1. On that day he 
was married to Miss Margaret Brown, daughter of 
John Brown, of Brooke County, W. Va. (then Virginia). 
Just one year later a little girl came into the home, and 
brought with her many blessings, and among them a 
demand that the question of infant baptism be restudied. 
Questions are never settled until they are settled right. 
Like Banquo's ghost, they refuse to down until they are 
downed according to the eternal principles of truth. 

As we have already seen, the Campbells had decided 

that the baptismal question was one of forbearance. On 

three different occasions — Feb. 3, 1810; May 19, 1810, 

and June 5, 181 1 — Alexander Campbell had preached 

from Mark 16:15, 16, in which he made clear their 

views on this question. He said: ''As I am sure it is 

unscriptural to make this matter a term of communion, 

I let it slip. I wish to think and let think on these 

matters." Here is proof of the fact that we often look 

at a thing, but don't see it. Two things are essential to 

sight: the object and the angle. There is an angle in 

which light is absorbed by an object, and there is one 

in which it is reflected by it, and hence the object is 

visible or invisible, and important or unimportant, ac- 

111 



112 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

cording to the viewpoint. This subject as seen from 
the viewpoint of their education and inheritance was not 
to be neglected, and it was not to be made a test of 
fellowship. Most of the members of their little con- 
gregation had been baptized in infancy, and, as they 
thought, were thus inducted into the church. Thomas 
Campbell, expressing the popular idea on the subject, 
said ''that it was not now necessary for them to go, as 
it were, out of the church merely for the purpose of 
coming in again by the regular and appointed way'' 

But a baby is a wonderful revolutionizing power in 
the home. Until it comes the whole great question of 
babyhood, one of the truly great questions of the world, 
is treated theoretically. If there is any one man who is 
better qualified to deal with this problem than another, 
it is the man who has never had to deal with it; and if 
there is any one thing which this particular individual 
understands a little better than anything else, it is this 
question of babyhood, and all because he looks at it 
theoretically. But after the baby arrives, things cease 
to be theoretical, and become intensely practical. The 
ancestors of this particular child had for generations 
been believers in infant baptism. But this grandfather 
and father had solemnly agreed that all religious ques- 
tions were to be settled by the Bible. "Where the Bible 
speaks, we speak; and where the Bible is silent, we are 
silent,'' is the slogan of their mission, and now they turn 
to the Book for light. Being a thorough Greek scholar, 
the father went into the original in his investigations, 
and, as a result, he was soon satisfied that the penitent 
believer was the only Scriptural subject of baptism. 
This was a startling discovery, and it required courage 
to accept it, but he had the courage, and it was once 
for all accepted. But he did not stop here, but pressed 



SETTLING THE BAPTISMAL QUESTION 113 

his investigation into the meaning of the original word, 
and was not long in coming to the conclusion that it 
meant imvdersion. To say that he was astonished does 
not express his feelings — he was shocked. His faith, 
hoary with age and honors, was being mercilessly dis- 
rupted. But the worst was yet to come : if neither 
affusion nor infant baptism was in the Book, then he 
had not been baptized. The wife fully agreed with her 
husband, and they lost no time in adjusting themselves 
to the new light shining on their pathway. Matthias 
Luce, a Baptist preacher, agreed to immerse them. The 
son, always thoughtful of his father, apprised him of 
his purpose before taking the step. He was rather 
reticent, but, knowing the competency of his son, both in 
scholarship and character, to settle such questions, he 
interposed no objections. 

The agitation concerning baptism was spreading in 
the Campbell family. Dorothea, a sister of Alexander, 
told her brother that she was having much trouble on 
the subject, for she had been reading her Bible care- 
fully, and was convinced that there was no authority 
for infant baptism in the Book. She had not spoken 
to her father about the matter, but asked him to do so. 
Her brother smiled, and told her that he and his wife 
had had the same experience and reached the same con- 
clusion, and that he was then on his way to see Mr. 
Luce about baptizing them. How often is it thus that 
kindred spirits, without conference with each other, 
reach the same conclusions. The reader will recall a 
similar example in a preceding chapter in the case of 
Thomas Campbell and his son on the subject of divisions 
in the church, while the father was in America and the 
son was in Scotland. 

June 12, 1812, was fixed as the day for the baptizing, 



114 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

and Buiialo Creek, where the three members of the 
Association had been baptized, as the place. Mr. Luce, 
accompanied by another Baptist preacher — Henry 
Spears — on his way to Buffalo, spent the night with 
Thomas Campbell. The next morning, as they were 
about starting to the water, Mr. Campbell told him that 
he and his wufe, after thorough investigation, had de- 
cided to be immersed. This was the first intimation to 
others that the older people had also been in the throes 
of the same agitation, and it greatly increased the in- 
terest on the subject. 

The prominence of the candidates for baptism, and 
the novelty of the scene, for Baptists were not numer- 
ous in that section, attracted a large audience at the 
home of David Bryant, near the Buffalo. Thomas 
Campbell, in an elaborate address, gave the reasons which 
had resulted in this action, and said he could not fail to 
walk in new light as God threw it upon his v/ay. Alex- 
ander followed in a strong speech, in wdiich he empha- 
sized the two facts that immersion alone was Bible bap- 
tism, and that the penitent believer was the only proper 
subject of the ordinance. James Hanen and wife were 
convinced by the addresses, and the seven w^ere baptized 
by Mr. Luce. 

In connection with his baptism Mr. Campbell took 
another advanced step in the restoration of primitive 
Christianity. He and Mr. Luce had agreed that the or- 
dinance should be in strict harmony with the New Testa- 
ment pattern, and, as there was no precedent for the 
''religious experiences" practiced by Baptists as a pre- 
requisite for baptism, this was to be omitted, and the 
great confession made by Peter, that ''Jesus is the Christ, 
the Son of the living God'' (Matt. i6: 17, 18), would be 
substituted in its place. Mr. Luce hesitated at this point. 



SETTLING THE BAPTISMAL QUESTION 115 

because it was not according to ''Baptist usage/' but he 
finally yielded, saying that he believed it to be right, and 
he would do his duty and risk the censure which would 
likely follow. And so, perhaps for the first time, the 
"good confession,'' as practiced in the primitive church, 
was honored and emphasized on American soil. 

The influence of this scene was immediate and wide- 
spread. On the Lord's Day following, at the meeting 
of the Brush Run Church, thirteen others, on a confes- 
sion of faith in the Christ, were buried with their Lord 
in baptism, Thomas Campbell officiating. Others fol- 
lowed their example, and in a short while the church was 
composed almost entirely of baptized believers. But 
some few turned away from them, refusing to discredit 
the faith and practice of their ancestry. The history of 
the Haldane church in Edinburgh was being repeated. 
The reader will remember that when those noble re- 
formers declared for immersion that many hesitated, 
halted, and finally turned about and deserted them, so 
that, as Richardson says, ''immersion, apt emblem of 
separation from the world, occasioned a separation be- 
tween those who had been previously united in religious 
fellowship." 

Let us pause at this point and note the progress made 
thus far, for it is decided and important: 

1. Divisions among the people of God have been seen 
to be sinful, and they are throwing their influence against 
them. 

2. The Bible has been declared to be the only rule of 
faith and practice, and they have pledged themselves to 
speak where it speaks, and be silent where it is silent. 

3. Immersion has been discovered to be the only 
Bible baptism, and they have submitted to it themselves, 
and are preaching it to others. 



116 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

4. Infant baptism has been rejected as a human tra- 
dition, and the baptism of the penitent beUever is sub- 
stituted in its place. 

5. The confession of faith in Christ, as practiced in 
the early church, has been recognized as the sole require- 
ment essential to baptism. 

We quote again from Dr. Richardson: 'Tn seeking 
for the 'old paths' they had thus far found each new 
truth to lead them to another still more obvious, as a 
single track often guides the traveler lost in the forest 
to a pathway, which in turn conducts him to one still 
wider and more easily pursued. The necessity for unity 
brought them to the Bible alone; this led them to the 
simple primitive faith in Christ; and this, in turn, had 
now guided them to the primitive baptism as the public 
profession of that faith. The full import and meaning 
of the institution of baptism was, however, still reserved 
for future discovery.'' 

As Alexander Campbell now is the recognized leader 
in the great work which his father inaugurated, it may 
be well that we have a word from him at this time. In 
a sermon at the home of a Mr. Buchanan, he gives the 
following reasons for not being a party man : 

I. ''Because Christ has forbidden me. He has com- 
manded us to keep the 'unity of the Spirit;' to be 'of 
one mind and one judgment,' and to call no man master 
on the earth. 

2. "Because no party will receive into communion all 
whom God would receive into heaven. God loves his 
children more than our creeds, and man was not made 
for the Bible, but the Bible for man. But if I am asked 
by a partisan. Could you not join us and let these things 
alone? I answer. No, because 

3. "The man that promotes the interests of a party 



SETTLING THE BAPTISMAL QUESTION 117 

Stands next in guilt to the man that made it. The man 
that puts the second stone on a building is as instrumental 
in its erection as the man that laid the first. 

4. ''Because all parties oppose reformation. They all 
pray for it, but will not work for it. None of them dare 
return to the original standard. I speak not against any 
particular denomination, but against all. ... I desire to 
fight for the faith once delivered to the saints. I like the 
bold Christian hero." 

These clear-cut utterances show that this young man 
grasped the situation before him, and that he, like Luther 
and Knox, had the courage of his convictions, and was 
ready, with the zeal and ardor of a martyr, to give his 
life to the cause he had espoused. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Into the Baptist Church. 

Bitter Foes and Ardent Friends — An Example — Joins 
Redstone Association — Increasing Popularity — De- 
bates with Walker and McCalla — Sermon on 
the Law — Joins Mahoning Association — 
The Christian Baptist — The Name 
''Bethany:' 

The change of the Brush Run Church into a society 
of immersed behevers naturally produced both enemies 
and friends — enemies among Presbyterians and friends 
among Baptists. The community was strongly pedo- 
baptist, and the clergy, already displeased with Mr. 
Campbell's teaching, aroused and cultivated a bitter op- 
position against him. And their influence at that time 
was much greater than it is to-day — it was almost irre- 
sistible. It manifested itself in many ways, so that the 
very atmosphere was freighted with misrepresentations, 
and friendships were sundered, business relations were 
disturbed, and homes were made unhappy. It invaded 
places of worship, especially baptismal services. More 
than once, when Thomas Campbell was baptizing, sticks 
and stones were thrown into the water, accompanied with 
threats of physical violence. But he always preserved 
the dignity and spirit of the Christian gentleman, and 
thus turned these coarse indignities into a blessing for 
himself and the cause he plead. But it is significant that 
Alexander had no such experience at his meetings. 
There was something in the clear, commanding tones 
of his voice, and in the expressions of his eye and face, 

118 



INTO THE BAPTIST CHURCH 119 

that forbade them, however bitter the feehngs of his 
hearers. But he met a woman once who was an ex- 
ception to the rule. He was returning from an appoint- 
ment when, about nightfall, a violent storm overtook 
him, and he sought shelter in a home on the roadside. 
The woman was a Presbyterian, and when she learned 
that he was Alexander Campbell she denied him shelter, 
and sent him on to brave the storm and find his way as 
best he could through the darkness of a rainy night. 
Mr. Campbell, speaking of the incident, said she must 
have been a woman of very strong convictions, or she 
could not thus have stifled the gentler instincts of her 
sex. He seemed not to feel unkindly to her. 

But over against this vicious opposition there was a 
corresponding sym.pathy among the Baptists. They were 
not numerous in the vicinity of Brush Run, but east- 
ward on the Monongahela River, and in the fertile val- 
leys at the base of the Allegheny Mountains, they were 
sufficiently so to have an Association, called Redstone, 
named for an old Indian fort on the river about sixty 
miles above Pittsburgh, where Brownsville is now situ- 
ated. This Association urged Brush Run to enter their 
fellowship, claiming that there was enough held in com- 
mon by the two bodies to justify the union. They felt 
a pardonable pride in the fact that these two scholarly 
and strong men, after thorough investigation, had 
adopted their views on the action and subjects of bap- 
tism. But the Campbells had not forgotten their expe- 
rience with the Presbyterians, and so were a little shy. 
However, after mature deliberation, and still anxious to 
avoid every appearance of forming a new denomination, 
they decided, on certain conditions, to enter the Red- 
stone Association. The matter was brought before the 
Brush Run Church in the autumn of 1813, and it was 

(5) 



120 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

decided to accept the invitation from their Baptist breth- 
ren on the condition that they be ''allowed to teach and 
preach whatever they learned from the Holy Scriptures/' 
''regardless of any creed or formula in Christendom/' 

This decision was presented to the Association, and, 
after considerable discussion, it was voted to receive 
them. C. L. Loos, speaking of this most important 
event, says: "Looking at our past history, it is difficult 
to say what would have been the fortunes of A. Camp- 
bell's reformatory enterprise, if it had not found an ad- 
mirably propitious field among the Baptists. It certainly 
would not have made the remarkable progress which 
signalized its early history. . . . We owe much to the 
Baptists, in spite of the fact that they often became our 
most determined opponents." 

After this the Baptist churches were thrown open 
to Mr. Campbell, and his services were sought far and 
wide by his new brethren. And, mounted on his faith- 
ful horse, he gladly responded to these calls. And wher- 
ever he went he was bold to make known his peculiar 
views. He discussed such questions as the place and pur- 
pose of baptism, the Lord's Supper, regeneration, conver- 
sion, Christian union, the old and new covenants, the law 
and the gospel, etc. Great audiences heard him with 
enthusiasm, and friends were made by the hundreds and 
thousands. He soon came to be recognized as the lead- 
ing champion of their cause, and when they wanted a 
debate they turned to him to hold it. In 1820 he met 
Rev. John Walker in discussion at Mt. Pleasant, O., and 
in 1822 he met Rev. William McCalla at Washington, 
Mason Co., Ky., both pedobaptists. These discussions 
added greatly to his prestige as a scholar, orator and 
polemic, and his Baptist brethren drew nearer to him and 
took him into their confidence. But he was candid with 



INTO THE BAPTIST CHURCH 121 

them, and warned them against a possible future. At a 
private conference with a number of their preachers at 
the close of the McCalla debate, he said: ''Brethren, I 
fear that if you knew me better, you would esteem and 
love me less. For let me tell you that I have almost as 
much against you Baptists as I have against the Pres- 
byterians." 

Mr. Campbell learned two valuable lessons in these 
discussions: First, their rare value as educational 
agencies. *'A week's debating,'' said he, ''is worth a 
year's preaching;" and, second, the value of the printing- 
press in disseminating truth. Both debates were pub- 
lished, and wherever they went they were like torch- 
lights illuminating the people who were in the dark on 
the questions discussed. So much was he impressed 
at this point that, in a fev/ years, he launched the Chris- 
tian Baptist, his great religious monthly. 

But trouble was brewing for Mr. Campbell in the 
Baptist fold. He had some enemies who were tireless 
in their opposition to him, and not overscrupulous in 
their methods. At a meeting of the Redstone Associa- 
tion at Cross Creek, Va., in 1816, he preached his 
famous Sermon on the Law, which proved to be the 
entering wedge of separation between him and the Bap- 
tists. Such a sermon to-day would not produce the 
same results, for the religious world has grown much 
during this almost one hundred years, but it was revolu- 
tionizing then. 

No other single sermon ever preached by this mighty 
preacher had the effect of this one. It was epoch- 
making. Here, for the first time, he drew clearly the 
distinction between the law and the gospel, which 
proved in after years an impregnable bulwark in his 
conflicts wath religious error. He showed that the law 



122 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

was temporary and local, but the gospel was for all 
time, and universal. As a system the law had waxed 
old and passed away. The antitype had given way to 
the type, and the shadow to the substance. Only the 
ethical, which was necessarily immortal, remained. The 
Patriarchal dispensation was the starlight ; the Jewish 
dispensation was the moonlight; that of John the Bap- 
tist was the twilight; and the Christian dispensation, 
beginning with the coronation of the Christ and the de- 
scent of the Spirit, was the sunlight. The patriarchs had 
the bud ; the Jews had the blossom ; we have the mature 
fruit of divine grace. 

No sermon since the days of inspiration ever did so 
much to leaven and enlighten the religious world as did 
this one. The effect was magical. It was like a great 
arc-light thrown upon the way of a band of pilgrims 
struggling in the dark. The common people understood 
it, and they proclaimed Mr. Campbell the greatest 
preacher of the age. But these enemies, mainly among 
the clergy, determined never to rest until its author was 
driven from the Association, and they succeeded. 

At the next meeting he was tried for heresy, but 
acquitted. But the old fight, with increasing bitterness, 
was continued. At last, wearied with this continual strife, 
the Brush Run Church v/ithdrew, and united with the 
Mahoning Baptist Association of Eastern Ohio. About 
this time — August, 1823 — Mr. Campbell and about thirty 
others, mainly from Brush Run, organized a church at 
Wellsburg, Va., the second congregation in the Restora- 
tion movement. The wisdom of this change of associa- 
tions was seen in the fact that ultimately the Mahoning 
Association wheeled into line with the work of the Camp- 
bells. 

Reference has already been made to the Christian 



INTO THE BAPTIST CHURCH 123 

Baptist J but the importance of that journal justifies 
further notice. The name of the paper was an effort 
at conciHation. Mr. Campbell did not like the word 
''Baptist/' because it was a denominational term. But, 
after consultation with his father, Walter Scott, and 
others, it was decided that as they were working with the 
Baptists, the term, modified by the word ''Christian," 
might be the best title to use. 

The prospectus was clear and candid as to his pur- 
pose. "The Christimi Baptist shall espouse the cause of 
no religious sect, except the ancient sect called Christians 
first at Antioch. Its sole object shall be the eviction of 
truth and the exposing of error in doctrine and practice. 
The editor, acknowledging no standard of faith other 
than the Old and New Testaments, and the latter as the 
only standard of the religion of Jesus Christ, will, inten- 
tionally, at least, oppose nothing which it contains, and 
recommend nothing which it does not enjoin.'' 

With characteristic energy and confidence, Mr. Camp- 
bell erected a building near his home, bought presses and 
type, and employed printers, and pushed the enterprise 
Vv^ith vigor. He not only published this paper, but estab- 
lished a publishing-house, which had a successful history 
of more than forty years. That the reader may appre- 
ciate the industry and working capacity of this editor, 
he should know that his preaching increased rather than 
decreased with the advent of the paper ; that he not only 
edited it, but attended to an immense correspondence, 
and supervised the publishing department, and for recre- 
ation he directed the work of his fine farm on Buffalo 
Creek. 

It was in connection with the publication of this 
journal that the name "Bethany," a name inseparably and 
almost sacredly associated with the life and labors of 



124 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

Mr. Campbell, came into use. In the beginning, when 
the circulation was small, the paper was mailed at a 
little village, West Liberty, four miles away. But it 
soon increased so that this plan was found to be 
inconvenient and burdensome, and Mr. Campbell had 
a post-office established in his home, and called it 
''Bethany.'' And for the next thirty years he was the 
postmaster. 

The influence of the Christian Baptist from the first 
was remarkable. The first issue made its appearance 
July 4, 1823, and seven years later, in 1830, when it 
ceased to exist, giving place to the Millennial Harbinger, 
a monthly double its size, it had made a record which will 
never be effaced from the religious history of the world. 
A small people in the beginning had become a power to 
be reckoned with ever afterward. 

The briUiant and fearless editor was a sort of free- 
lance, reminding many of Elijah or John the Baptist. 
Religious circles were no longer stagnant, but were 
stirred to the center. Fast friends and furious foes 
gathered about the editor, and his influence increased 
rapidly. The people with one accord, like the Bereans, 
looked into their Bibles to see if these things were true. 
Neutrality was impossible. The reader was forced to 
take sides. He could not sit silently on the fence and 
watch with indifference the discussions which it aroused. 
Preachers denounced it from the pulpit, and warned their 
flocks against it, but they read it all the more. Its con- 
verts were numerous, and many of them were among the 
strongest and best men of the land — such men as P. S. 
Fall, James Challen and D. S. Burnett. 

The paper kept up a raking fire all along the line of 
religious discussions, but it was specially severe at cer- 
tain points. One of these was the clergy, and he handled 



INTO THE BAPTIST CHURCH 125 

them without gloves. He characterized them as ''hireUng 
priests," ''textuary divines" and ''scrap doctors." As a 
body, he thought them ignorant, proud, self-seeking and 
anxious to keep the people in bondage so that they could 
lord it over them. He scored them for their clerical 
dress, their sanctimonious speech, their long-faced piety, 
their devotion to party and their claim to a special divine 
call. He denounced their love of titles — ''reverend," 
"bishop," "doctor," etc. 

He was severe in his condemnation of the authority 
of conventions and associations. He did not object to 
such gatherings for mutual exhortation, acquaintance, 
comfort, etc., but where the tendency was toward legis- 
lative and judiciary bodies he opposed their tyrannical 
authority. Under his influence several associations gave 
up their organizations and became annual meetings for 
counsel and fellowship. 

He was terrible on creeds. The "Philadelphia Con- 
fession" was popular among the Baptists. It was 
adopted by the associations, and no one who ignored it 
could have fellowship in them. The Redstone Associa- 
tion, already referred to, at one time refused to admit 
fourteen congregations because they failed to declare 
allegiance to the Philadelphia Confession in the letters 
brought by their messengers. This was at the meeting 
of 1827, to which Mr. Campbell came as a corresponding 
messenger from the Mahoning Association. He de- 
nounced them as misnomers, saying that they were not 
confessions of faith, but of opinions. He said that 
in opinions people should be free. Clergy, councils and 
creeds were the threefold chain by which the people were 
bound and robbed of their liberty in the Christ. 

A notable series of editorials, called "The Ancient 
Order of Things," covered what the editor regarded as 



12G THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

the apostolic faith and practice, and they attracted wide 
attention, and produced much commendation and con- 
demnation. The phrase proved popular with those who 
liked it, and became a sort of shibboleth among them. 
But with others the effect was just the reverse. Mr. 
Campbell's friends were stigmatized as ''Restorationers,^' 
or ''Campbellites,'' and the feeling against him was in- 
tense. He was often denounced from the pulpit as a bad 
man, and associations sometimes passed resolutions of 
condemnation. Not only his teaching, but his character, 
was assailed. He was called a "Unitarian," an ''Anti- 
monian,'' a ''Deist," and it was said that he ''stole a 
horse," was "excommunicated for drunkenness," etc. 

A ludicrous illustration of this feeling occurred in 
Virginia, where some persons had been baptized in the 
"Campbellite way." Instead of saying, "I baptize you," 
etc., the preacher had used the phrase, "I immerse you," 
etc Some of the churches denounced this as heter- 
odox, and refused to receive those baptized into their 
fellowship, and they were rebaptized. Among this num- 
ber was a negro, and as he came up out of the water he 
shouted, "I ain't no Campbellite now !'' 




Walter Scott. 




Barton W. Stone. 




"Raccoon" Smith. 




John T. Johnson. 




John Rogers. 



CHAPTER XV. 

Out of the Baptist Church. 

Wonderful Prosperity — Conversion of P. S. Fall, ''Rac- 
coon" John Smith, John T. Johnson, etc. — Walter 
Scotfs Work — Mr. Campbell's Solicitude — 
Testimony of Baptist Historians — The 
Campbells Reluctantly Separate — 
Causes of the Separation. 

The launching of the Christian Baptist was the begin- 
ning of a period of great prosperity and bitter persecu- 
tion. Mr. Campbell proved himself as powerful with the 
pen as he was in the pulpit, and so this popular journal 
greatly multiplied his influence, and his work went for- 
ward with leaps and bounds. In Kentucky men like P. S„ 
Fall, ''Raccoon'' John Smith, John T. Johnson, the 
Creaths, Vardeman, Morton, etc., led it to success. Jere- 
miah Vardeman baptized 550 people in six months ; 
Smith baptized 339 in six weeks ; John Secrest baptized 
222 in one hundred days ; and others made kindred 
records as evangelists, so that the ''Blue Grass'' State 
was a fruitful field for the restoration plea in the begin- 
ning, and it so continues to this day. 

The same was true in Ohio. Here leaders like Adam- 
son Bently, Walter Scott, William Hayden, Joseph 
Gaston, and many others of the same mold, aroused the 
people from their lethargy, and rallied them around the 
new standard. Mr. Scott was employed as evangeUst 
for the Mahoning Association in 1827. This association, 
organized in 1820, was made up of ten Baptist churches 
(the number later was doubled) situated in eastern 

127 



128 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

Ohio, near the Pennsylvania line, and between the Ohio 
River and Lake Erie, and was known as the Western 
Reserve. One of them, however — Wellsburg — was in 
Virginia. The population was mainly from New Eng- 
land, and was alert and aggressive. Scott was a remark- 
able young man, about thirty, and a born evangelist. 
Studied in the light of the elements of great manhood, he 
does not suffer when compared with his illustrious rela- 
tive and fellow-Scotchman, the poet and novelist of the 
same name. He was a personal friend and ardent ad- 
mirer of Mr. Campbell, and was in full sympathy with 
his teachings. The churches, as a rule, were spiritually 
dead when he began his work with them. In 1825 they 
reported only sixteen conversions. But God wrought 
wonders in them through their consecrated evangelist. 
He threw all the force of his ardent nature into his 
work. He was a close student of the Bible, both as to 
its message and methods, and he resolved to preach the 
same gospel preached by inspired men, and in the same 
way. This was a bold and novel thing to do, but he 
believed it to be right, and he did it. At first he failed. 
It was so new and strange that the people, astounded, 
would ask questions, but w^ould not obey. But he was 
right, and he knew it, and, being faithful, God gave him 
the victory. Soon a tidal wave began to sweep through 
the churches, and the first year there were a thousand 
conversions. 

And during the next two years, when his labors as 
their evangelist closed, the interest and enthusiasm in- 
creased, and, like a swollen stream, swept everything be- 
fore them. Not only individuals by the hundreds and 
thousands were saved, but often entire congregations 
Would wheel into line with ''the ancient order of things.'' 
Baptist congregations would vote out the ''Philadelphia 



OUT OF THE BAPTIST CHURCH 129 

Confession" and substitute the New Testament in its 
place. And not only Baptists, but Presbyterians, Uni- 
versalists, Lutherans, Methodists and Episcopalians in 
large numbers, were reached. The Deerfield Methodist 
Church came in as a whole. Mr. Campbell, like a great 
general, kept his eye on the field, and he became fearful 
lest the burning zeal of his able and ardent lieutenant 
should lead him into serious error in doctrine. And at 
his request, his father, Thomas Campbell, visited his 
field of labor. From New Lisbon, Apr. 9, 1828, he wrote 
his son as follows : 

'^1 perceive that theory and practice in religion, as in 
other things, are matters of distinct consideration. We 
have spoken and written many things correctly concern- 
ing the ancient gospel, but I must confess that, in respect 
to the direct application of it, I am at present, for the 
first time, on the ground where the thing has appeared 
to be practically exhibited to the proper purpose. Mr. 
Scott has made a bold push to accomplish this object, by 
simply and boldly stating the ancient gospel, and insist- 
ing upon it." 

This means that Mr. Campbell confessed that he and 
his son had discovered the panacea for the world's ills, 
but they had not properly applied it ; they had found the 
good old way, but had not explored it. And let it be 
said to the glory of Walter Scott, that he was the first 
man in America, if not in the world, to take the field 
notes of the apostles, discovered and republished by the 
Campbells, and run and apply the original survey, be- 
ginning at Jerusalem. 

And what was true in Kentucky and Ohio was also 
true on a smaller scale in western Pennsylvania, Illinois, 
Indiana, Missouri, Tennessee and Virginia. The Bap- 
tist historian, Benedict, speaking of the First Baptist 



130 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

Church of Nashville, says: ''It increased between three 
and four hundred members, when the Campbellites or 
Reformers succeeded in making proselytes to their views 
of nearly the whole of this great and growing interest. 
The pastor and people, with their chapel, of course, all 
were brought under the influence of the Reformers/' 
And the New York Baptist Register, of the year 1830, 
says : ''Mr. Campbell's paper and their vigorous mission- 
ary efforts are making great achievements. It is said 
that one-half of the Baptist churches of Ohio have em- 
braced this sentiment and become what they call Chris- 
tian Baptists. It is spreading like a mighty contagion 
through the Western States, wasting Zion in its progress. 
In Kentucky its desolations are said to be even greater 
than in Ohio.'' A correspondent, writing to Mr. Camp- 
bell in 1828, says: "One of your most bigoted opposers 
said not long since in a public assembly that, in traveling 
twenty-five hundred miles circuitously, he found only four 
regular Baptist preachers whom you had not corrupted." 
The enemies of Mr. Campbell were as active and 
tireless as his friends. Their work begun in the Red- 
stone Association, had never ceased, but had grown with 
the years and increased with age. Mr. Campbell was 
aware of it, and he kept his readers posted regarding it. 
He cherished the hope that the Baptist Church would 
return to apostolic ground, and become the nucleus 
around which the Christian Vv^orld could be rallied. The 
thought of forming a new religious organization was as 
far from his purpose or desire as the east is from the 
west, but the merciless logic of facts was beginning to 
force upon him the painful conviction that his mission 
could not be fulfilled within the narrow limits of any 
denomination. Speaking of his possible separation from 
them, he said : 



OUT OF THE BAPTIST CHURCH 131 

''If there be division, gentlemen, you will make it, 
not I; and the more you oppose us with the weight of 
your censure, like the palm-tree, we will grow the faster. 
I am for peace, for union, for harmony, for co-operation 
with all good men. But I fear you not. If you fling 
firebrands, arrows and discords into the army of the 
faith, you will repent it, not me. You will lose influence, 
not me. We covet not persecution, but disregard it. 
We fear nothing but error, and should you proceed to 
make divisions, you will find that they will reach much 
farther than you are aware, and that the time is past 
when an anathema will produce any other effect than 
contempt from some and a smile from others." 

And, finally, when the inevitable came, and he and 
his followers were forced to leave the Baptist fold, he 
said : 

''AH the world must see that we have been forced 
into a separate communion. We were driven out of 
doors because we preferred the approbation of the Lord 
to the approbation of any sect in Christendom. If this 
be our weakness, we ought not to be despised; if our 
wisdom, we ought not to be condemned. We have lost 
no peace of conscience, none of the honor which 
comes from God, none of the enjoyments of the Holy 
Spirit, nothing of the sweets of Christian communion, 
by the unkindness of those who once called us breth- 
ren. 

" *More true joy Marcellus exiled feels, 
Than Csesar with a senate at his heels.' 

*'We have always sought peace, but not peace at war 
with truth. We are under no necessity to crouch, to beg 
for favor, friendship or protection. Our progress is on- 
ward, upward and resistless. With the fear of God be- 
fore our eyes, with the example of the renowned worthies 



132 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

of all ages to stimulate our exertions, with love to God 
and man working in our bosoms, and immortality in 
prospect, we have nothing to fear, and nothing to lose 
that is worth possessing/' 

These are the ringing words of a man v/ho believes 
he has a mission, and who is determined, regardless of 
the cost, to be true to Him from whom he received it. 
To some they may appear to be lacking in the element 
of human kindness, but it must not be forgotten that 
Mr. Campbell was now a young man, and his enemies 
saw to it that the combative in him was duly cultivated. 
When an old man, mellowed and enriched by age and 
experience, his tone was softened, and he believed that 
the separation should not have been forced, and re- 
gretted that it ever took place. 

The causes of separation were both doctrinal and 
practical. The doctrinal were: 

I. Regarding the proper division of the Book, As 
early as 1816, when Mr. Campbell preached his great 
sermon on the law, this point was emphasized. He be- 
lieved that 

"The Old Testament was the New Testament concealed, 
And the New Testament was the Old Testament revealed." 

He did not discard the Old Testament, except ''the 
handwriting of ordinances that was agamst us, which 
was contrary to us,'' and which was by Christ taken out 
of the way, "nailing it to his cross" (Col. 2: 14). He 
believed it to be from God, as much so as the New, but 
that it was given to the Jew, and not to the whole world, 
and that it was not the book of authority to the Christian, 
except as its teachings were incorporated in the New. 
Of course its moral principles, like their Author, were 
immortal. But the Baptists insisted on the equal au- 
thority of both books. Robert Semple, a leading Baptist 



OUT OF THE BAPTIST CHURCH 133 

preacher, said : "I aver that the Old and New Testaments 
are essentially the same as to obligation, and stand in 
the same relation to each other and to us as different 
parts of the New Testament do to each other/' The 
difference, said Campbell, was like the difference between 
a State when it was a Territory, and the same people 
when they became a State. The territorial constitution is 
binding only to the extent that it is re-enacted in the con- 
stitution of the State. 

2. Regarding the design of baptism. In his debate 
with Walker, in 1820, Mr. Campbell asserted that bap- 
tism was connected with the remission of sins. In his 
debate with McCalla, three years later, he made the same 
argument with added emphasis and illustration. But in 
1830 he made a distinction between the change of heart 
and the change of state, and claimed that it is the pur- 
pose of baptism to change the state. ''A change of 
heart," he says, ''though it necessarily precedes, is in no 
sense equivalent to, and never to be identified with, a 
change of state." He compared it to the marriage cere- 
mony which was not for the purpose of changing the 
hearts of the contracting parties, but their state or re- 
lationship, and that they were not married, however great 
their change in heart toward each other, until this cere- 
mony had taken place. The Baptists called this ''bap- 
tismal regeneration," or "water salvation," and rejected 
it as a doctrine foreign to the teachings of the Book. 
They taught that baptism was not in order to, but be- 
cause of, remission of sins, and therefore it did not 
precede, but followed, forgiveness. 

3. Regarding conversion. The Baptists were strongly 
Calvinistic, and taught that as man was "dead in tres- 
passes and in sins" — as dead spiritually as Lazarus was 
physically — it required a spiritual miracle through the 



134 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

direct operation of the Holy Spirit to give him spiritual 
life, just as it required a physical miracle to give life to 
the body of Lazarus. Mr. Campbell insisted that he was 
not so dead in sins as to destroy his volition, and that 
he v^as converted or not, not because of some miracle 
of the Spirit, exerted or withheld, but because of his 
own choice in the matter. He was active, and not pas- 
sive, in the matter of his religious Ufe. 

4. Regarding creeds. The Baptists believed that 
creeds — a statement of doctrinal belief — were necessary 
in order to protect themselves from heretics, such as 
Universalists, Unitarians, etc., and most of them had 
adopted the ''Philadelphia Confession.'' Mr. Campbell 
waged war furiously on this point. He insisted that 
Bible things should be stated in Bible terms, and that 
creeds had always been the prolific source of divisions, 
and that the early church protected herself from all man- 
ner of heretics by the Book as it came from God. 

There were also some serious practical differences 
which tended to separation : 

1. Regarding the administration of baptism. The 
Baptists taught that only an ordained preacher had the 
right to baptize. Mr. Campbell, on the other hand, 
taught that, since all Christians were kings and priests 
unto God, each one had a right to administer the ordi- 
nances of the Lord. 

2. Regarding the Lord's Supper. The Baptist cus- 
tom was to observe this ordinance once a month, or once 
a quarter, while Mr. Campbell insisted that it should be 
observed every Lord's Day. He showed this to be the 
practice of the primitive church, as seen both in the New 
Testament and in later history. The Baptists also prac- 
ticed ''close communion/' but he, with Paul, taught that 
in this ordinance a man should examine himself, and not 



OUT OF THE BAPTIST CHURCH 135 

his neighbor, ''and so let him eat of that bread, and 
drink of that cup" (i Cor. ii : 28). 

3. Regarding the reception of members into the 
church. The Baptists required their converts to relate a 
''Christian experience,'' either to the officers or to the 
congregation, and they were received or rejected by a 
vote. If the "experience" indicated a genuine conversion, 
they were received; if not, they were rejected. Mr. 
Campbell insisted that all who believed with the whole 
heart in the divinity of the Christ, and who thus con- 
fessed him before men, should be baptized in his name, 
and thus become members of his body. 

4. Regarding the call to the ministry. The Baptists 
believed that preachers should receive a direct call from 
God, accompanied by a miraculous assurance akin to the 
light and voice in Saul's conversion and call before they 
had a right to preach. Mr. Campbell opposed this idea, 
as he did the idea of the miraculous in conversion, and 
taught that consecrated and gifted young men well re- 
ported of in the churches, as was Timothy, were called 
of God, and should be set apart by these churches to 
"the ministry of the Word." 

These, and kindred points, constantly agitated, and 
often exaggerated, finally did their work, and tore asun- 
der a people who ought to have been one. No exact day 
can be named as the time of this sad occurrence, for it 
came about gradually, and consumed several years in its 
consummation, but we may date it 1830. After this the 
followers of Mr. Campbell were known as "Christians," 
or "Disciples of Christ," or "The Christian Church," the 
legal title usually being the "Church of Christ at such 
and such a place." 

During the eighty years since the separation, time, 
God's gracious minister of heahng, who always brings 



136 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

roses, and not thorns, has done much toward healing 
these old sores and obliterating these differences, so that, 
in many places, the two peoples are much nearer together 
now than then. And it is the prayer and hope of many 
in both communions that the time is not distant when 
these, the two largest immersionist bodies in America, 
may become one. 



CHAPTER XVr. 

Four Important Events. 

The Living Oracles — Campbell and Owen Debute — Mor- 

monism — ''Millennial Harbinger"' — The ''Oracles'' 

Burned — Owen and the Ox, 

Alexander Campbell was now forty-two years of 
age, and just entering the prime of his splendid man- 
hood. The ''Declaration and Address'' was issued in 
1809, so that he had been twenty-one years developing 
the principles of the mission upon which his Master had 
sent him. Like a great ship, it required time to fully 
loose him from his moorings and bring him out into the 
open sea, but lie is there now, and ready for the 
voyage. 

But there are two important events back of this date 
which contributed largely to his present position of 
power, and we must notice them. The first is the publi- 
cation of "The Living Oracles,'' a new translation of the 
New Testament. The spare moments of the winter of 
1826 were devoted to this work. It was based on the 
translation of George Campbell, Macknight and Dodd- 
ridge, three eminent Presbyterian scholars, with such 
hints and aids of his own as might help the reader in 
his study. An important feature of the work was an- 
nounced in the prospectus. ^'Sundry terms," he said, 
''are not translated into English, but adopted into the 
translation from long usage. These terms are occa- 
sionally translated into English, but not always. We 
shall uniformly give them the meaning which they have 
affixed to them whenever they occur, and thus make this 

137 



138 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

a pure iLnglish New Testament, not mingled with Greek 
words, either adopted or AngUcized/' 

The work, a book of 550 pages, appeared in the 
spring, and had the unique distinction of being the first 
version in English that ever gave to the reader the Nezv 
Testament conipletely rendered in his own vernacular. 
This bold miove on the part of Mr. Campbell placed him 
in a favorable light before the unprejudiced world, show- 
ing that he was anxious for all to have the best possible 
opportunity to understand the Scriptures. 

Pedobaptists were much displeased with the work, 
but they were disarmed in their criticism because it was, 
in the main, the work of their own scholars. Neither did 
the Baptists like it, because it robbed them of their de- 
nominational name by translating ^'John the Baptist" 
into *'John the Immerser," and some of them denounced 
it bitterly. One writer said Mr. Campbell had made 
eighty variations from Dr. George Campbell's transla- 
tion on the single subject of baptism. This was not 
true, for the changes, as announced in the prospectus, 
were simply the changing of the word ''baptism,'' and its 
cognates, into the English words ''immerse" and "immer- 
sion" — the varying changes of a single word, rather than 
the changing of eighty words. Mr. Campbell, stung by 
this ingenious, but unmanly, misrepresentation, replied 
sharply by saying that the writer "had told eighty lies 
in telling one truth, as if a man should say he had seen 
eighty pigeons when he had only seen one pigeon eighty 
times." 

Another example of opposition was the case of Ed- 
mund Waller, a brother of the editors of the Baptist 
Recorder, who secured a copy of the book, and was un- 
decided as to what he should do with.it. For ten days 
he made the matter a subject of prayer, and finally de- 



FOUR IMPORTANT EVENTS 139 

cided to burn it; and so, like Jehoiakim (Jer. 36: 23), he 
committed it to the flames. Such is bhnd bigotry in all 
ages; it v/ill not only burn books, but it will burn 
martyrs, when not restrained by the strong arm of the 
law. But God always sees to it that such opposition 
overreaches itself, and reacts to the injury of the perse- 
cutor rather than the persecuted. But all Baptists did 
not thiis receive it. Many among the cultured and broad- 
spirited gave it a hearty reception. Among these may be 
mentioned Andrew Broaddus, one of their strongest men. 

Another incident to be mentioned is the debate v/ith 
Owen. Up to this time Mr. CampbelFs main work had 
been the defense of Christianity in the house of its 
friends, but now he meets its open enemies. Infidelity, 
like a flood, had been pouring into the United States. 
David Dale's success at New Lanark Mills, Scotland; 
Faurier's theories of communism in France, and the 
''social system'' of Robert Owen, son-in-law of Mr. Dale, 
v/ere impressing the people. Advocates of these viev/s, 
in large numbers, were combing to America, because they 
thought this new country of free institutions a favorable 
field, and they were active and aggressive. They estab- 
lished themselves at Kendal, O. ; New Harmony, Ind., 
and some other places, and taught that religion was a 
barrier to progress, and should be shoved out of the 
Vv'ay. A paper was established which advocated in an 
able manner these revolutionary views. 

As soon as Mr. Campbell saw this he ran up the ban- 
ner of Christ to the masthead and cleared the deck for 
action. The Christian Baptist published a series of 
strong articles on ''Robert Owen and the Social System" 
and "Deism and the Social System," and they accom- 
plished the desired result. In February, 1828, he was 
asked if he would meet Dr. Underbill in debate. He re- 



140 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

plied that he was always ready to defend his Master, 
but he preferred not to meet a subordinate of Mr. Owen, 
but that gentleman himself. He believed the debate nec- 
essary, but he would measure arms only with the king. 
Mr. Owen at this time was lecturing in New Orleans, 
where he boldly challenged the clergy to meet him in 
discussion, but no one would meet him. But as soon 
as Mr. Campbell learned of the challenge he accepted it. 
In a short time Mr. Owen visited him in order to ar- 
range the details of the discussion. And while at 
Bethany, the two were strolling together one even- 
ing over the farm, when they came to the family 
burying-ground. Mr. Owen paused and said to Mr. 
Campbell : 

''There is one advantage I have over the Christian 
— / am not afraid to die. Most Christians have fear in 
death; but if some few items of my business were settled, 
I should be perfectly willing to die at any moment." 
Mr. Campbell replied: ''You say you have no fear in 
death; have you any hope in death?'' After a solemn 
pause, Mr. Owen said, "No." 'Then," continued Mr. 
Campbell, pointing to an ox standing near, "you are on 
a level with that brute. He has fed till he is satisfied, 
and stands in the shade whisking off the flies, and has 
neither fear nor hope in death." Mr. Owen, unable to 
meet this simple, but crushing, reply, only smiled in his 
confusion, and made no attempt to do it. 

The debate took place in Cincinnati, O., Apr. 13-21, 
1829, and was a great occasion. Mr. Campbell was the 
acknowledged champion of the Christian faith, and Mr. 
Owen was no less distinguished as its foe ; and the issue 
between them being the one great question of the world, 
it was one of the most remarkable religious discussions 
in the history of man. 



FOUR IMPORTANT EVENTS 141 

Mr. Campbell, being a philosopher, and realizing the 
importance of thorough work, gave to his defense of 
Christianity the widest possible range. On the fifth day- 
Mr. Owen completed the reading of his manuscript, and 
finding himself unable to follow his opponent in his broad 
generalizations and masterly summaries, he authorized 
him to proceed without interruption to the close of his 
argument. Then followed a speech of twelve hours, 
''which,'' says Richardson, ''for cogency of argument, 
comprehensive reach of thought and eloquence, has never 
been surpassed, if ever equaled." And when it closed, 
a thoughtful hearer, not in sympathy with Mr. Campbell, 
expressed the feelings of himself and many others, when 
he said: "I have been listening to a man who seems as 
one who had been living in all ages." 

Mr. Campbell, anxious that we who read the debate 
should know the sentiment of those who heard it, at the 
close proposed "that all persons in the assembly who be- 
lieve in the Christian religion . . . will please signify it 
by rising," when almost every one rose. When they 
were seated, he put the other side of the question, when 
only three persons in the immense audience stood. 

The debate was a success in that it checked the rising 
tide of infidelity and greatly encouraged the Christian. 
It also aided Mr. Campbell in his work by placing the 
religious world, both Protestant and Catholic, under last- 
ing obligation to him, and giving to him prestige and 
power irrespective of denominations. The debate was pub- 
lished, and had a large circulation, and it remains to this 
day an authority on Christian evidences. Another sig- 
nificant result was that Mr. Owen soon abandoned his 
infidel schemes in America, and returned to the Old 
World. 

The smoke of this battle had hardly cleared away 



142 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

when Mr. Campbell was called upon to meet a foe in 
his own household. About the close of 1830 Mormonism 
began its deadly work in northern Ohio, when Sydney 
Rigdon joined Joseph Smith in the fraud of 'The Lost 
Manuscript Found/' which was published as the ''Book 
of Mormon/' and resulted in the organization of the 
"Church of the Latter-day Saints.'' Mr. Rigdon was 
an eloquent speaker, and he wrecked the cause in Kirt- 
land, and injured it at other places. But Mr. Campbell 
was promptly on his trail, and so successfully exposed 
the new fad that it lost its power over the people, and 
soon found it wise to seek a home in other parts. 

The Millennial Harbinger, successor to the Christian 
Baptist, was launched with the beginning of the year 
1830. The change in the general situation demanded a 
larger paper with a different name. For seven years 
the Christian Baptist had been invaluable in dissemina- 
ting the principles of the Restoration miovement. In the 
last issue the editor gives his reasons for its discontinu- 
ance, as follows: 

'T have commenced a new work, and taken a r.ew 
name for it, on various accounts. Hating sects, and 
vsectarian names, I resolved to prevent the name of 
'Christian Baptist' from being fixed upon us. It is 
true that men's tongues are their own, and they may use 
them as they please, but I am resolved to give them no 
just occasion for nicknaming c^dvocates of the ancient 
order of things." 

The appearance of the Millennial Harbinger was the 
occasion for renewed assaults on the cause it represented. 
The editor, realizing this, gave his enemies to under- 
stand that if nothing but a continued battle would satisfy 
them, they should have it. "I hear," he said, "that it 
has been decreed to destroy this paper as soon as it 



FOUR IMPORTANT EVENTS 143 

appears. If they can logically and Scripturally strangle 
it in life's porch, or dispatch it as his Majesty, King 
Herod, dispatched the innocents of Bethlehem, I say, 
let them do it. But I draw comfort and strength from 
the remembrance that no man ever achieved any great 
good to mankind who did not wrest it with violence 
through ranks of opponents, and who did not in the 
conflict sacrifice either his good name or his life. John, 
the harbinger of the Messiah, lost his head. The apos- 
tles were slaughtered. The Saviour was crucified. The 
ancient confessors were slain. The reformers all have 
been excommunicated. I know we shall do little good if 
we are not persecuted, . . . But the ancient gospel has 
many powerful advocates, and the heralds of a better 
order of things are neither few nor feeble. No seven 
years of the last ten centuries, as the last seven, have been 
so strongly marked with the criteria of the dawn of that 
period which has been the theme of many a discourse 
and the burden of many a prayer.'' 

In January, 1846, after sixteen years of pronounced 
usefulness, the Harbinger was increased to sixty pages, 
and Prof. W. K. Pendleton, of Bethany College, was 
added to the editorial staff. And nineteen years later — 
January, 1865 — o^lj ^ little more than a year before his 
death, Mr. Campbell relinquished all editorial connec- 
tion, and turned the paper over to Professor Pendleton. 
But he continued to write for it occasionally, and the last 
thing that ever came from his pen appeared in the issue 
of the following November. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

The Stone Movement. 

Barton W. Stone — Bound by Calvinism — Liberated by 

the Bible — Wonderful Revivals — Cane Ridge — 

Trouble with Synod — Springfield Presbytery — 

Signal Honor — Shakerism. 

The spirit of reformation was not confined to the 
Campbells, but was abroad in the land. God's people 
in many places were weeping over the hurt of Zion, 
and doing what they could for her cure. This spirit was 
not confined to any particular people, and it was found 
on both sides of the Atlantic. The Haldanes, in Europe; 
James O'Kelly, a Methodist in Virginia; Arthur Jones, 
a Baptist, in Vermont, and Barton W. Stone, a Presby- 
terian, of Kentucky, are examples of this fact. Mr. 
Stone led the most important of these tributary move- 
ments, and one which exerted a permanent and powerful 
influence on the Restoration movement. 

Mr. Stone was born near Port Tobacco, Md., Dec. 
24, 1772, sixteen years before the birth of Alexander 
Campbell. He was the youngest of a large family, and 
his father died when the child was too young to remem- 
ber him. When he was seven years old, the mother 
moved to Pittsylvania County, Va., near the place where 
this writer was born and reared. Here, in full view of 
the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, the boy grew to 
young manhood. Here he experienced the characteristic 
hardships of pioneer life, and these hardships were in- 
tensified by the Revolutionary War. From the humble 
home in the forest, and only thirty miles away, he heard 



THE STONE MOVEMENT 145 

the guns of General Green and Lord Cornwallis in the 
battle of Guilford Courthouse. 

He early chose the law as a profession, and, in order 
to succeed, to use his own words, he ''determined to get 
an education, or die in the attempt/' When eighteen he 
entered Guilford Academy, N. C., the scene of the battle 
referred to, and made fine progress as a student. He 
was of a strongly religious temperament, but the the- 
ology of the day so befogged him that he became dis- 
couraged, and gave himself up to the youthful pleasures 
of the young outside the church. But James McGarey, 
a noted evangelist, came to the town, and the young 
student again turned his face Godward, in search of 
peace for the soul, determined, regardless of cost, that 
he would be a Christian. But he found it a difficult task. 
''For one year,'' he says, "I was tossed on the waves of 
uncertainty, laboring, praying and striving to obtain sav- 
ing faith, sometimes despondent and almost despairing 
of ever getting it. At that time I believed that mankind 
were so totally depraved that they could do nothing 
acceptable to God till his Spirit, by some physical, 
almighty and mysterious power, had quickened, enlight- 
ened and regenerated the heart, and thus prepared the 
sinner to believe in Jesus for salvation. I asked myself, 
Does God love the world — ^the whole world? And has 
he not almighty power to save? Had I a child whom 
I greatly loved, and saw him at the point of drowning, 
and utterly unable to save himself, and if I were able 
to save him, would not I do it? Would not I contradict 
my love for him — ^my very nature — if I did not save 
him? And will not God save all whom he loves?'' 

This reasoning drove Mr. Stone into the doctrine of 
unconditional election and reprobation as taught in the 
Westminster Confession of Faith, and left him almost 



146 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

mad. Spealdng of it later, he says : "I shudder while I 
write. Blasphemy rose in my heart against such a God, 
and my tongue was tempted to utter it. Sweat profusely 
burst from the pores of my body, and the fires of hell 
gat hold of me.'' 

All this time relief was at his finger tips, but the 
clouds of speculative theology so blinded him that he did 
not see it. Finally, in desperation, he turned to the old 
Book, and these clouds fled away like mists before the 
sun, and his soul w^as at peace. 'Trom this state of per- 
plexity," he says, ''I was relieved by the precious word 
of God. I became convinced that God did love the whole 
world, and that the reason why he did not save all was 
because of their unbelief, and that the reason why they 
believed not was not because God did not exert his 
physical, almighty power on them, but because they re- 
ceived not the testimony given in his word concerning 
his Son. I now saw that it was not against the God and 
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ that I had been tempted 
to blaspheme, but against the character of a God not 
revealed in the Scriptures.'' 

After this outburst of faultless logic and righteous 
indignation, Mr. Stone, in the solemnity of the presence 
of death, expresses his convictions concerning this doc- 
trine. ''Let me here speak when I shall be lying under 
the clods of the grave: Calvinism is among the heaviest 
clogs on Christianity in the world. It is a dark moun- 
tain between heaven and earth, and is amongst the most 
discouraging hindrances to sinners from seeking the 
kingdom of God." 

From this moment Mr. Stone was a new man. The 
shackles which had fettered him were broken, and the 
scales which had blinded him had been removed, and as 
a free man with clear vision he threw himself with ardor 



THE STONE MOVEMENT 147 

into his work. He became a candidate for the ministry; 
but when asked if he accepted the Westminster Confes- 
sion of Faith, he answered, ''As far as consistent with 
the word of God/' thus showing himself in perfect har- 
mony with the slogan of the Campbells — ''Where the 
Bible speaks, we speak; and where the Bible is silent, 
we are silent/' 

In 1 80 1 the young preacher, having heard of a won- 
derful revival in southern Kentucky, went down to study 
the work. There, in Logan County, multitudes gathered 
and strange things transpired. "The scene to me," he 
says, "was new and passing strange. It baffled descrip- 
tion. Many, very many, fell down as men slain in battle, 
and continued for hours in an apparently breathless and 
motionless state — sometimes for a few moments reviving 
and exhibiting symptoms of life by a deep groan, a 
piercing shriek, or by a prayer for mercy most fervently 
uttered. After lying there for hours, they obtained de- 
liverance. The gloomy cloud which covered their faces 
seemed gradually and visibly to disappear, and hope in 
smiles brightened into joy; they would rise, shouting de- 
liverance, and then would address the surrounding m.ul- 
titude in language truly eloquent and impressive. My 
conviction was that it was a good work — the work of 
God." 

Mr. Stone returned from these strange and stirring 
scenes fired anew with holy zeal. His first sermon at 
Cane Ridge was on the words : "Go ye into all the world, 
and preach the gospel to every creature. He that be- 
lieveth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth 
not shall be damned." This was the beginning of an- 
other revival similar to the one he had visited. Expe- 
riences on the part of sinners were equally strange and 
startling. And the people in equal numbers came from 



148 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

far and near, and thousands turned to God. It looked, 
in some respects, like another Pentecost. Twenty-five 
thousand people camped on the ground until the food 
supply failed, and would have remained longer could they 
have been fed. Like fire in stubble, the influence of the 
meeting swept abroad until a wide scope of country was 
involved. Doubtless there was fanaticism here, but it 
was not all fanaticism, or good and permanent results 
would not have followed as they did. 

Mr. Stone was surrounded by some strong colaborers 
in this work — Richard McNemar, John Thompson, John 
Dunlavy, David Purviance and Robert Marshall. Their 
preaching was in direct conflict with the Confession of 
Faith. They taught that salvation was for all, and that 
every one, without the aid of the miraculous influence of 
the Spirit, could be saved. No wonder this preaching 
wrought wonders, for it was the same kind that 
wrought wonders in the early church. Neither is it 
strange that it aroused violent opposition, for Satan 
knew its danger to his kingdom, and he would, if pos- 
sible, stop it. So, in a short time, they were tried for 
heresy in the synods and presbyteries for preaching un- 
Calvinistic doctrines. McNemar was the first victim, 
and when they saw that he would be excluded from the 
fold, these five men, during a recess of the synod, retired 
to a garden, and, after prayer and consultation, drew up 
a protest, a declaration of independence, and a with- 
drawal from their jurisdiction, but not from their comx- 
munion. This protest was presented to the synod by the 
moderator, and it greatly surprised and enraged that 
body. 

These brave men retired to the home of a friend near 
by, and were quickly followed by a committee from 
the synod, seeking to reclaim them. During the confer- 



THE STONE MOVEMENT 149 

ence with the committee one of its members — Matthew 
Houston^ — was converted to the righteousness of their 
cause, and united with the protestants. 

When the synod received the report of this com- 
mittee, it solemnly suspended the dissenters, because they 
had departed from the doctrine and usages of the church, 
and had taught a doctrine subversive of the Confession 
of Faith. But in this second point they were unjust to 
Stone, for he was ordained with the understanding that 
he accepted the Confession only so far as it agreed with 
the Bible. 

Immediately these brethren formed themselves into 
an organization known as the Springfield Presbytery. 
They sent a vigorous letter to their churches, telling 
them what had transpired, and why they had withdrawn 
from the synod. They also filed their objections to the 
Confession of Faith, and to all human creeds, and their 
determination to take the Bible, and the Bible alone, as 
their only rule of faith and practice. This letter was 
widely circulated, and it had a large influence. 

The ties of confidence and love binding Mr. Stone to 
his churches were tender and strong, and it was painful 
to break them. But he had new light, and he must walk 
in it; and so he told them that he could not longer 
preach Presbyterianism, and that he would henceforth 
labor to spread the Redeemer's kingdom irrespective of 
denominationalism. He released them from all financial 
obligations, and said he would continue to preach among 
them, but not as their pastor. Having already freed his 
slaves, and now having no salary, he worked on his little 
farm to support his family. But he preached inces- 
santly, and great throngs gladly heard him. 

The Springfield Presbytery was an infant of a short 
life. Within a single year these men saw their distinct- 



150 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

ive name savored of party spirit, and they threw it over- 
board and substituted the name ''Christian/' This noble 
act, which should have commended them to all good 
men, only intensified the opposition against them, and 
they became a byword and laughing-stock among the 
religionists about them. 

In the light of all this, it would seem that the dis- 
tinguished honor of organizing the first churches since 
the great apostasy, with the Bible as their only rule of 
faith and practice, and with ''Christian'' as the family 
name, belongs to these brave men, and that it occurred 
in Kentucky, in 1804, ^^^d that Cane Ridge was the first. 

Light improved is always light increased, as the his- 
tory of these men shows. They soon published "The 
Last Will and Testament of the Springfield Presbytery," 
one of the most unique productions in religious litera- 
ture. The independent study of the Book was not long 
in causing them to abandon infant baptism and affusion. 
But none of them had been immersed, and, for a mo- 
ment, they were puzzled as to how to overcome this 
difficulty ; but it was only momentary, for they soon saw 
that the authority to preach the gospel involved the right 
to administer its ordinances, and so the preachers first 
baptized each other, and then baptized their congrega- 
tions. 

Let it be remembered that all this occurred five years 
before Thomas Campbell issued the "Declaration and 
Address," and eight years before he and his illustrious 
son were immersed. 

For a time everything went well, and churches sprang 
up as if by magic over a wide territory. But a new fad, 
called "Shakerism," a semi-religious socialistic move- 
ment from New York, was introduced, and it made 
havoc with the faith of many of their new converts. 



THE STONE MOVEMENT 151 

Two of the preachers lost their moorings and went with 
them, and the day which dawned with such bright prom- 
ise seemed destined to end in a night of densest darkness. 
But Mr. Stone, by nature as kind and gentle as a woman, 
was also courageous as a lion when courage was de- 
manded, stood manfully by the ship, and steered her 
safely through the storm and out again into the peace- 
ful waters of prosperity. But other troubles came, and 
two more of his preachers deserted him, and returned 
to the original fold. Speaking of this in after years, 
he said: "Of the five of us who left the Presbyterians, 
I only was left, and they sought my life." But God 
did not desert him, and his influence increased greatly, 
and churches were planted in Kentucky, Tennessee and 
Ohio. 



(6) 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

Union of the Followers of Campbell and Stone. 

First Meeting of Campbell and Stone — Conferences — 

Speeches of Smith and Stone — Union Consummated 

— The Two Peoples Contrasted — Blending 

Streams — Power of Love, 

In 1824 Mr. Stone and Mr. Campbell first met. 
When they compared views, it seemed that there were 
irreconcilable differences between them. Stone thought 
Campbell heterodox on the Holy Spirit, and Campbell 
suspected Stone's soundness on the divinity of Christ. 
But, on a fuller investigation, they found these difixr- 
ences more imaginary than real, and they joined hearts 
and hands, and God blessed them with the most important 
work since the apostolic age. If good men would always 
thus deal with their differences, this blessed result would 
become one of the ordinary experiences of life. 

Theirs was a case of esteem and love on first sight, 
and this feeling continued to the end of life. Stone, 
near the end, said : ''I will not say there are no faults in 
Bro. Campbell, but there are fewer, perhaps, in him than 
any man I know on earth ; and over these few my love 
would throw a veil, and hide them forever from view. 
I am constrained, and willingly constrained, to acknowl- 
edge him the greatest promoter of this Reformation of 
any man living.'' And this feeling was fully recipro- 
cated by Mr. Campbell. 

With the leaders feeling thus toward each other, the 
work of union between their followers was well on the 
way when it was begun. And so, after a number of 

152 



CAMPBELL AND STONE J-53 

friendly conferences, it was decided to have a meeting 
of representative men from both sides at Georgetown, 
Ky., to continue four days, including Christmas Day of 
183 1. The results of this conference were so satisfac- 
tory that another was convened in Lexington on New 
Year's Day, following. The spirit of the Master was 
supreme in these gatherings, and the blessings of the 
Lord rested richly on his people. 

The Lexington meeting was held in the old meeting- 
house of the Stone brethren on Hill Street on Saturday. 
At an early hour the house was crowded. Stone and 
John T. Johnson and Samuel Rogers and G. W. Elley 
and Jacob Creath and ''Raccoon'' John Smxith were there, 
with many others worthy of special mention, but we have 
not space for their names. The Lord has them in the 
heavenly records. It w^as not a convention of elders and 
preachers, but a great mass-meeting of all classes. It 
was decided that one man from each party should speak, 
setting forth clearly the grounds of union, and Stone 
and Smith were selected as the speakers. After a private 
conference, it was agreed that Smith should make the 
first address. 

At the appointed hour. Smith, realizing the tremen- 
dous importance of the occasion, arose and delivered one 
of the great speeches of his life. The following quota- 
tion will give the reader an idea of the character of the 
address. He said: 

"God has but one people on the earth. He has given 
to them but one Book, and therein exhorts and com- 
mands them to be one family. A union such as we plead 
for — a union of God's people on that one Book — must, 
then, be practicable. Every Christian desires to stand 
in the whole will of God. The prayer of the Saviour, 
and the whole tenor of his teaching, clearly show that it 



154 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

is God's will that his children should be united. To the 
Christian, then, such a union must be desirable. There- 
fore the only union practicable or desirable must be 
based on the word of God as the only rule of faith and 
practice. 

''There are certain abstruse and speculative matters 
— such as the mode of divine existence, and the nature 
of the atonement — that have, for centuries, been themes 
of discussion among Christians. These questions are as 
far from being settled now as they were in the begin- 
ning of the controversy. By a needless and intemperate 
discussion of them much feeling has been provoked, and 
divisions have been produced. For several years past 
I have tried to speak on such subjects only in the words 
of inspiration, for it can offend no one to say about 
these things just what the Lord himself has said. What- 
ever opinions about these, and similar, subjects I may 
have reached in the course of my investigation, if I never 
distract the church of God with them, or seek to impose 
them on my brethren, they will never do the world any 
harm. I have the more cheerfully resolved on tiiis 
course because the gospel is a system of facts, com- 
mands and promises, and no deduction or inference from 
them, however logical or true, forms any part of the 
gospel of Jesus Christ. No heaven is promised to those 
who hold them, and no hell is threatened against those 
who deny them. They do not constitute, singly or to- 
gether, any item of the ancient and apostolic gospel. 
While there is but one faith, there may be ten thousand 
opinions; and hence, if Christians are ever to be one, 
they must be one in faith, and not in opinion. 

'Tor several years past I have stood pledged to meet 
the religious world, or any part of it, on the ancient 
gospel and order of things as presented in the Book. 



CAMPBELL AND STONE 155 

This is the foundation on which Christians once stood, 
and on it they can, and ought, to stand again. From 
this I can not depart to meet any man in the wide world. 
While, for the sake of peace and Christian union, I have 
long since waived the public maintenance of any specula- 
tion I may hold, yet not one gospel fact, commandment 
or promise will I surrender for the world. 

*'Let us, then, brethren, be no longer Campbellites, or 
Stoneites, or New Lights, or Old Lights, or any other 
kind of lights, but let us all come to the Bible, and the 
Bible alone, as the only book in the world that can give 
us all the light we need." 

Stone, with his heart filled with love and hope, re- 
sponded in a brief speech. ''I will not attempt," he said, 
''to introduce any new topic, but will say a few things 
on the subjects presented by my beloved brother. Con- 
troversies in the church sufficiently prove that Christians 
can never be one in their speculations upon these mys- 
terious and sublime subjects, which, while they interest 
the Christian philosopher, can not edify the church. 
After we had given up all creeds and taken the Bible, 
and the Bible alone, as our rule of faith and practice, we 
met with so much opposition that I was led to deliver 
some speculative discourses upon these subjects. But I 
never preached a sermon of that kind that really feasted 
my heart; I always felt a barrenness of soul afterwards. 
I perfectly accord with Bro. Sm^ith that these spec- 
ulations should never be taken into the pulpit ; and when 
compelled to speak of them at all, we should do so in the 
words of inspiration. 

''I have not one objection to the ground laid down 
by him as the true Scriptural basis of union among the 
people of God, and I am willing to give him, now and 
here, my hand." 



156 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

And as he spoke these words, he extended his hand 
to Smith, who received it rapturously, and the union of 
these two great bodies was virtually accomplished. 

It was then proposed that all who felt willing to unite 
on the principles enunciated should signify it by giving 
to each other the hand of fellowship, and at once the 
audience arose and joyfully joined hands. A song was 
sung, and, amid tears of inexpressible happiness, the 
union was confirmed. On the Lord's Day following they 
broke the loaf together, and around the emblems of the 
suffering Saviour they renewed their pledge of love and 
loyalty in a common cause. 

Smith and Rogers were sent among the churches to 
carry the glad tidings of the union, and to direct and 
confirm them in their new relations. 

Dr. Richardson's wise words, contrasting the two 
parties to this union, are in point here : ''While the fea- 
tures of this organization — the Stone wing — were thus 
in a good measure similar to those of the reformation in 
which Mr. Campbell was engaged, there were some char- 
acteristic differences. With, the fbrmer, the idea of 
uniting all men under Christ was prominent; with the 
latter, the desire of an exact conformity to the primitive 
faith and practice. The one occupied itself chiefly with 
casting abroad the sweep-net of the gospel, which gathers 
fishes of every kind; the other was intent on collecting 
'the good into the vessels' and casting 'the bad away.' 
Hence the former engaged mainly in preaching; the 
latter, in teaching. And thus they supplemented each 
other. Where one was strong, the other was weak. One 
appealed mainly to the head, the other to the heart. In 
one, the protracted meeting 'was prominent,' and con- 
verts were multiplied ; in the other, the mists and clouds 
of theological speculation were dissipated, and the church 



CAMPBELL AND STONE 157 

of the apostolic days was being brought back into view. 
In a word, one was gathering fuel and the other fire, and 
when the two were properly adjusted, the world was 
stirred as it has not been since the days of primitive 
Christianity/' 

W. T. Moore calls attention to an important result 
of the union which should not be overlooked: ''From the 
Campbellian point of view this union had its drawbacks. 
At the time it was consummated the 'Reformers' were 
practically sweeping everything before them in the Bap- 
tist churches of Kentucky, Ohio, and other places where 
the 'Christians' had attained considerable influence. But 
the union seriously affected the trend of the Baptist 
churches toward the Reformatory movement. Many of 
those who had sympathy with the Reformation utterly 
refused to become associated with a movement which 
had coalesced with Unitarians and Pedobaptists." This 
charge was false, but it had the semblance of truth, and, 
for a time, it did much injury. 

J. H. Garrison beautifully illustrates the union of 
these people. He says: "As two streams, having inde- 
pendent sources in the high mountain ranges, in flowing 
toward the sea, by the law of gravitation often meet 
and mingle their waters in one river, so these two inde- 
pendent religious movements — the one organized by the 
Campbells, the other by Barton W. Stone — having the 
same general aim, the unity of God's children, naturally 
flowed together under the law of spiritual gravitation, 
when unhindered by sectarian aims, forming a mighty 
stream of reformatory influence, whose effect has been 
felt in every part of the church universal." 

In this case, as with the Campbells, the younger was 
the stronger. The son, so far as the later and larger 
history of their work is concerned, rather than the father, 



158 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

gave it form and direction. The Missouri River, though 
longer than the Mississippi, is a tributary of the latter. 
And so the Stone movement, though several years older 
in its organic form than that of the Campbells, is gener- 
ally regarded a tributary, and not the main stream, in this 
onfiowing and world-blessing spiritual current. This is 
because most of the vital and permanent in the teachings 
of Stone, and much more, were found in the teachings of 
Campbell. That this may be seen, it is only necessary 
to enumerate the leading principles which have given the 
Restoration movement its place and power in the world. 
These are: 

1. The plea for Christian union. 

2. The exaltation of the Bible as the only rule of 
faith and practice. 

3. The restoration of the ordinances to their original 
place and meaning. 

4. The emphasis of human responsibility in things 
spiritual. 

5. The exaltation of the Christ as the creed and 
foundation of the church and the supreme authority in 
Christianity. 

One final word of much importance remains to be 
said concerning this union ; viz. : love was the leading 
element in this glorious consummation. The people first 
became acquainted with each other; this acquaintance 
ripened into friendship, and this friendship into love. 
No amount of argument and information and exhorta- 
tion in the absence of love could have wrought such 
results. Pieces of steel thrown together will touch each 
other, but they will not unite; but melt them, and they 
become one common whole. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

Walter Scott. 

Early Life — Comes to America — Conversion — Con- 
trasted with Campbell — Great Preacher — Makes 
Campbell Shout — Great Evangelist — Anecdotes — 
as a Writer — Campbell's Tribute to His 
Great Lieutenant. 

The union of the forces of Stone and Campbell was 
one of the great events in modern church history. The 
three leading spirits in this movement — Thomas and 
Alexander Campbell and Barton W. Stone — were aided 
by heroic men, without whom they could not have suc- 
ceeded. Let us pause and look at the chief of these 
heroic helpers — Walter Scott. 

Mr. Scott was born in Moffat, Dumfrieshire, Scot- 
land, Oct. 31, 1796. He was one of ten children. John 
Scott, his father, was a man of culture and a musician 
of ability. His mother, Mary Innes Scott, was not only 
a brilliant woman, but she was as sweet and beautiful as 
the rose, and as sensitive. A sad illustration of this is 
seen in her tragic death. Her husband died suddenly, 
while away from home, and so great was the shock 
when she heard of it that she died of a broken heart, 
and both were buried in a single grave. 

His parents, early in his life, recognized the talent of 
their son, and determined to give him the best educa- 
tional advantages ; and so, after careful academic train- 
ing, he completed his education in Edinburgh Univer- 
sity, and entered life's conflicts equipped for the struggle. 

Through the influence of an uncle — George Innes — 

159 



160 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

he emigrated to the New World, landing in New York, 
July 7, 1818, in his twenty-second year, and began his 
career in the Faculty of a classical academy on Long 
Island. But having tasted adventure, and liking it, he 
was soon on his way West to visit the vast regions 
beyond the Allegheny Mountains. With a companion of 
his own age, he made on foot the long, rough journey of 
more than three hundred miles, reaching Pittsburgh, with 
tired limbs and sore feet, on the 7th of May, 1819. 
Here he found a fellow-countryman — George Forrester 
— who gave him a place in the Faculty of his school. 
They were congenial spirits, and at once became fast 
friends and fellow-students of the Bible. Mr. For- 
rester's religious life had been influenced by the Hal- 
danes of Scotland, whose work was close akin to that 
to which young Scott was destined to devote his life. 

Their joint stud}^ of the Book, not as controversial- 
ists, but with a burning desire to know the truth that 
they might live it, gave to the Scriptures a new and 
precious meaning. It was no longer a repository of 
proof-texts from which to establish theological systems, 
or a jumble of gems from heaven, but it was an orderly 
development of the scheme of redemption, as much so as 
the text-books used in their classrooms. Mr. Scott soon 
had to give up infant baptism, which he had received 
from his pious Presbyterian parents; nor was it long 
until both of them abandoned affusion altogether, and 
were buried with their Lord in baptism. 

In 1822, at the age of twenty-six, Mr. Scott first met 
Alexander Campbell. The Lord had made them for 
each other, and they seemed intuitively to recognize the 
fact, for, from that moment, a friendship and partner- 
ship in the work of the Master began, which grew in 
depth and power till ended by death. They were by 



WALTER SCOTT 161 

nature kindred spirits, and had been born and reared 
in the same rehgious atmosphere. Both loved the Bible 
with an unquenchable love, and were taxing every energy 
to know what it taught. Both were disgusted with 
human creeds, and were searching for something full 
and final as a bond of union for Christians. 

Dr. Robert Richardson, one of Scott's students, con- 
trasted the two men as follows: ''While Mr. Campbell 
was fearless, self-reliant and firm, Mr. Scott was natu- 
rally timid, diffident and yielding; and, while the former 
was calm, steady and prudent, the latter was excitable, 
variable and precipitate. The one, like the north star, 
was ever in position, unaffected by terrestrial influences ; 
the other, like the magnetic needle, was often disturbed 
and trembling on its center, yet ever returning, or seek- 
ing to return, to its true direction. Both were nobly 
endowed with the power of higher reason — a delicate 
self-consciousness, a decided will and a clear perception 
of truth. But in Mr. Campbell the understanding pre- 
dominated; in Mr. Scott, the feelings; and if the former 
excelled in imagination, the latter was superior in bril- 
liancy of fancy. If the tendency of one was to general- 
ize, to take wide and extended views, and to group a 
multitude of particulars under a single head or principle, 
that of the other was to analyze, to divide subjects into 
their particulars and consider their details. If one pos- 
sessed the inductive power of the philosopher, the other 
had, in a more delicate musical faculty and more active 
ideality, a larger share of the attributes of the poet. In 
a word, in almost all those qualities of mind and char- 
acter which might be regarded as differential or distinct- 
ive, they were singularly fitted to supply each other's 
wants, and to form a rare and delightful companionship. 
Nor were their differences in personal appearance and 



162 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

physical constitution less striking. Mr. Campbell v/as tall, 
vigorous and athletic; Mr. Scott was not above the 
average height, slender and rather spare in person and 
possessed of little muscular strength. While the aspect 
of one was ever lively and cheerful, even in repose, 
that of the other was abstracted, meditative, and some- 
times had even an air of sadness. Their features, too, 
were very different. Mr. Campbell's face had no straight 
Hues in it. Even his nose, already arched, was turned 
slightly to the right, and his eyes and hair were com- 
paratively light. Mr. Scott's nose was straight, his lips 
rather full, but delicately chiseled; his eyes dark and 
lustrous, full of intelligence and softness and without 
the peculiar eagle glance so striking in Mr. Campbell, 
while his hair, clustering above his fine, ample forehead, 
was black as the raven's wing." 

William Baxter also contrasts them. He says : 
"In no sense were they rivals, any more than Moses 
and Aaron or Paul and Silas; but, like them, with dif- 
ferent gifts, devoting their lives to the accomplishment 
of the same glorious end. Campbell was always great 
and self-possessed; Scott subject to great depression, 
and, consequently, unequal in his public efforts. But at 
times he knew a rapture, which seemed almost inspira- 
tion, to which the former was a stranger. Campbell 
never fell below the expectation of his hearers; Scott 
frequently did, but there were times when he rose to a 
height of eloquence which the former never equaled. 
If Campbell at times reminded his hearers of Paul on 
Mars Hill, commanding the attention of the assembled 
v/isdom. of Athens, Scott, in his happiest moments, 
seemed more like Peter at Pentecost, with the cloven 
tongue of flame on his head and the inspiration of the 
Spirit In his heart, while from heart-pierced sinners on 



WALTER SCOTT 163 

every side rose the agonizing cry, 'Men and brethren, 
what shall we do ?' '' 

In these graphic pen-pictures of Mr. Campbell and 
his greatest lieutenant we get a good view of the men, 
and are impressed with their fitness for joint labors in 
a common cause. 

Mr. Scott was a great preacher, not only because of 
his gifts as a speaker, but because of his theme. Like 
Paul, he knew nothing but Christ and him crucified. 
Christ to him was the central sun around which all other 
truth revolved, and from which it received its light and 
life. *'Shut your eyes to it," he said, ''and Christianity 
is a most dark and perplexing scheme. Once behold it, 
and you behold the most certain and substantial argu- 
ment for love to God and men." Fifty years later Isaac 
Errett said : "The most thoroughly revolutionary element 
in Walter Scott's advocacy of reformation, and that 
which has proved most far-reaching in its influence, is 
just this concerning the central truth in Christianity. It 
not only shaped all his preaching, but it shaped the 
preaching and practice of reformers generally, and 
called the attention of the religious world at large to the 
fact that a person, and not a system of doctrines, is the 
proper object of faith, and that faith in Jesus and love 
for Jesus and obedience to Jesus is the grand distinction 
of Christianity." 

In 1830 he was on his favorite theme before a great 
audience in a grove near Wheeling, Va., and Mr. Camp- 
bell was among his hearers. Usually calm and self-com- 
posed, Mr. Campbell, on this occasion, was aroused; his 
eyes flashed, his face glowed, and his emotions became 
so intense that he shouted, "Glory to God in the highest !" 

As an evangelist Mr. Scott was at his best. (See 
Chap. XII.) God wanted him for this special work, 



164 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

and when endowing him for it He was lavish in His 
gifts. His warm heart, his musical voice, his chaste and 
charming language, his tender pathos, his winsome per- 
sonality, his burning zeal and his great theme — the Mes- 
siahship — made him almost irresistible. And it was 
Scott, rather than Barton W. Stone, who struck the key- 
note of evangelism which has been so marked a char- 
acteristic among his brethren. Our corps of strong 
evangelists, led on by Charles Reign Scoville, and others 
almost as famous, next to the apostles, get their inspira- 
tion from Walter Scott. 

His mind was analytical, and he so simplified a sub- 
ject that all could understand. He told the people that 
the gospel, in general, was threefold — facts, commands 
and promises. The facts were to be believed, the com- 
mands to be obeyed and the promises to be enjoyed. But 
in its specific application it was fivefold: (i) Faith to 
change the heart; (2) repentance to change the life; (3) 
baptism to change the state; (4) remission of sins to 
cleanse from guilt; (5) the gift of the Holy Spirit to 
help in the religious life and make one a partaker of the 
divine nature. When advertising his meetings in a new 
community, he would get before a group of school-chil- 
dren, and ask them to hold up their hands, and, begin- 
ning with the thumb, he hung these items on the fingers. 
He would have them repeat them till they were familiar, 
when he would say: ''Now run home and tell your 
parents that a man will preach the gospel to-night at 
the schoolhouse as you have it on your fingers." It is 
needless to say that the children carried out his request, 
and that the people came to hear the strange preacher. 

On one occasion he met a new audience which seemed 
stolidly indifferent. He asked all who were for the 
Lord to stand. No one arose. He then asked all who 



WALTER SCOTT 165 

were for the devil to rise. And again no one stood. 
Scanning them for a moment, he said: ''I never saw 
such a crowd before. If you had stood up either for 
God or the devil, I would know v/hat to do, but, as it is, 
I am in the dark. You may go home, and I will study 
the case till to-morrow evening, and then I'll try to treat 
it." The people were amazed, but at the appointed hour 
there was not room for the audience, and it proved the 
beginning of a great victory for God. 

In August, 1823, Mr. Camipbell began the publication 
of the Christian Baptist, a periodical which did more to 
revolutionize religious thought than any other publica- 
tion of the century. But before issuing it he consulted 
Mr. Scott, who approved the enterprise, but suggested 
that it be not called The Christian, as Mr. Campbell pur- 
posed naming it, but the Christian Baptist, His reason 
for this was that as it was to circulate mainly among Bap- 
tists, where the leaven of reformation was rapidly 
spreading, it would be wise to associate their name with 
the paper. Mr. Scott was a graceful and forceful writer, 
and soon became a favorite contributor to the columns 
of the new journal. He wrote over the signature of 
^'Philip," and gained a reputation second only to that of 
its great editor. 

In 1844 Mr. Scott was located again in Pittsburgh, 
where he preached for the church in that city and the 
one in Allegheny City, and also edited the Protestant 
Unionist, which rendered valuable service to Protestant- 
ism as a whole and to the Restoration movement par- 
ticularly. 

During the last week of 1855 he visited his old-time 
friend and colaborer, Mr. Campbell, at his home in 
Bethany. He was cordially received and hospitably en- 
tertained, and his spirit was greatly refreshed. From 



166 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

early manhood these two true and strong spirits had 
stood shoulder to shoulder and heart to heart in one of 
the greatest struggles of Christendom, and they had 
seen victory perch upon the banner of King Jesus. And 
as they surveyed the mighty results of their labors, in 
deep gratitude, and not in pride, they thanked the Father 
for having honored them with lives of usefulness in his 
kingdom. 

Soon after this Mr. Scott completed his work, ''The 
Messiahship, or the Great Demonstration,'' a volume of 
384 pages, his most elaborate effort, and a fitting close 
to his literary labors. Mr. Campbell characterized it as 
an "interesting, edifying, cheering and fascinating 
volume." Isaac Errett said: ''Immense labor has been 
bestowed upon it by one of the best minds God has given 
us. It sparkles and shines all over with the peculiar 
genius of the author." And Professor Richardson says : 
"I am better pleased with it the more I examine it." 

Mr. Scott was called up to God from his home at 
Mayslick, Ky., Apr. 23, 1861, in his sixty-fifth year. His 
death was peaceful and triumphant. Mr. Campbell, in 
the Harbinger, said of him: "Next to my father, he was 
my most cordial and indefatigable colaborer in the origin 
and progress of the present Reformation. His whole 
heart was in the work. He had a strong faith in the 
person and mission and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
He had a rich hope of the life everlasting and of the in- 
heritance incorruptible, undefiled and unfading. I knew 
him well. I knew him long. I loved him much. By 
the eye of faith and the eye of hope, methinks I see him 
in Abraham's bosom." 





Robert Richardson. 



Dr. L. L. Pinkerton. 




M. B. Lard. 





William Hayden. 



Aylette Rains. 



CHAPTER XX. 

Smith and Richardson. 

Smith: Early Life — Calvinism — Waiting for a Call — ■• 
Children Burned — Joins Restoration Movement — 
Great Preacher and Evangelist — Richardson: 
Early Life — Conversion — Helper of Camp- 
bell — Author, Teacher, Editor, 

There were many heroic men of this period whom 
we would hke to sketch, but space forbids, and so we 
have to content ourselves with a brief notice of only- 
two of them — ''Raccoon" John Smith and Dr. Robert 
Richardson. They were both rare diamonds — one in 
the rough, and the other highly polished. 

"raccoon'' JOHN SMITH. 

Mr. Smith was the most unique character of his 
time. No one else was at all like him. He occupies a 
place altogether his own. This peculiar and undignified 
nickname is not a whit more peculiar than the man who 
wore it. But just why he should have received such a 
name is not clear, for he was never a hunter of any- 
thing, much less of raccoons. But in some way it was 
thrown at him, and it stuck, and perhaps he will never 
get rid of it, either in this world or in the world to come. 
And yet it must be admitted that, if there ever was a 
name needing a distinguishing prefix, his was that name ; 
for if all the John Smiths could be assembled in a single 
audience, it would be no mean multitude; or if marshaled 
under a single banner, it would make a small army. 

Mr. Smith was born Oct. 15, 1784, in Sullivan 

167 



168 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

County, Tenn. George Smith (or Schmidt), his father, 
was a German, and came to V'irginia about 1735, and 
settled near the James River. John was left an orphan 
early in life, but, fortunately, he was apprenticed to 
Colonel Buchanan, who trained him in habits of honor, 
industry and purity. While he was quite young he was 
married to Miss Rebecca Bowen, an Irish girl, richly 
endowed with the best peculiarities of her people. 

Not long after their marriage the Revolutionary War 
broke out, and the patriotic young husband shouldered 
his musket and went out to defend his adopted home. 
And when peace was declared he took his little family 
across the mountains and located in East Tennessee, 
where John, the ninth of thirteen children, was born. 
The library in this log cabin consisted of three books — 
the Bible, the Confession of Faith and a hymn-book — 
all of which were eagerly devoured by John. These 
books were supplemented by the teaching of a wise and 
witty mother, who stored his mind with the beautiful 
legends and history of her native land. Occasionally a 
schoolteacher came that way, and John was always one 
of his best pupils. 

When John was twelve years old, the father crossed 
the Cumberland Mountains and plunged deeper into the 
wilderness in search of cheaper land for his children, 
locating in a beautiful section known as Stockton's Val- 
ley. And soon after this John's young heart began to 
yearn for, and reach after, God. But Calvinism in its 
extremest form was the only religion that he could find. 
His logical mind turned from this, and he said: "Since 
my destiny is fixed, and I can not change it, I need not 
give myself any concern. I have nothing to do." But 
his conclusion, though logical so far as Calvinism was 
concerned, did not satisfy his soul ; and after the death 



SMITH AND RICHARDSON 169 

« 

of his mother, in 1804, his spiritual agony became great, 
and he never rested until, on the 26th day of December, 
he was received into the Baptist Church, and on the 
day following was baptized. 

Preachers were scarce in those days, and the neigh- 
bors urged John to preach to them. But, as he had 
received no strange call, something like that of the 
burning bush, he hesitated. But they would not take ''No'' 
for an answer, and finally he consented to make a talk. 
But, alas ! w^hen he rose to address the large crowd, he 
w^as seized with ''stage fright,'' and forgot everything he 
had to say. He fled from the house, but in the darkness 
outside he stumbled and fell. The shock of the fall 
restored his equilibrium, and he re-entered the room im- 
mediately, and delivered a thrilling address — the peculiar 
beginning of a wonderful ministry. 

But he continued to wait for the strange, miraculous 
call. It came not. The brethren urged him to take up 
the work anyway, and he finally consented to be or- 
dained. He then traveled far and wide, and his fame 
spread abroad, so that he soon had calls enough for 
a dozen preachers. 

Not long after this occurred the saddest episode in 
his life. He sold his home for $1,500, and went to 
Alabama in search of a new home. In 1814 he left his 
family in a little rented cabin, and went out to select 
a location. But while he was away the cabin burned, 
and two of his children and all his money were con- 
sumed in the flames. The poor mother escaped, but 
her heart was broken, and she died, and was buried with 
the ashes of her children. 

With a sad heart and an empty purse, the father 
returned to Kentucky, and continued to preach, but in 
a different tone. He knew that his little children were 



170 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

ft 

innocent and irresponsible, and he rebelled at the awful 
doctrine of infant damnation as taught by Calvinism. 
But his vision was only partially cleared. He saw the 
error of Calvinism, but he could not see its corresponding 
truth in the Bible. In the midst of a sermon he was so 
puzzled over this point that he stopped and said : ''Breth- 
ren, something is wrong. I am in the dark; we are all 
in the dark ; but how to lead you to the light, or to find 
the way myself, before God I know not!'' 

But God saw his struggling child, and he cam^e to his 
rescue. The Christian Baptist, edited by Alexander 
Campbell, was placed in his hands. This bold religious 
monthly was just the thing he needed. With sledge- 
hammer blows it dealt with the very problems which 
puzzled him. And so, the next year (1824), when Mr. 
Campbell visited Kentucky, Smith met him, and com- 
muned much with him, and, as a result, he became a 
convert to his teachings concerning the ancient order of 
things. He thought his Baptist brethren, when they, 
too, saw the light, would go with him; but he was 
destined to disappointment. Instead, bigotry and prej- 
udice waged a fierce war against him, and in 1830 a 
rupture occurred in their ranks, but a majority of the 
people went with Smith. The opposition brought out 
the best that was in him, so that he went everywhere 
like a conquering hero. Converts were numbered by 
the thousands, and new churches by the scores. In his 
zeal he hardly took time to eat or sleep, and the results 
of his labors were almost incredible. In reporting them 
for only a few months, he said to his wife : ''Nancy, I 
have baptized six hundred sinners, and capsized fifteen 
hundred Baptists." 

One of the best things in the life of Smith was the 
part he played in the union problem. We have already 



SMITH AND RICHARDSON 171 

seen him (Chap. XV.) in this role at the union of the 
followers of Stone and Campbell. But this was not his 
first work of the kind. As early as 1825, five years 
before, he favored union, and he understood its only 
basis. The church at Bald Eagle was having trouble 
over Calvinism. The extremists and conservatives 
seemed irreconcilable. A meeting was called, and Smith 
was invited to be present. The leaders of the two 
factions spoke long and bitterly, and the chasm between 
them was widened and deepened, rather than bridged. 
Just at the crucial moment Smith arose, and, approaching 
the table, he placed the creeds of these factions on it, 
one at each end, and then put the Bible between them, 
and said: *'Since neither will accept the creed of the 
other, let both come together on this Bible, as the only 
word of God, and the only bond of union." 

Smith was a many-sided man. His brain was strong 
and clear, his common sense was remarkable, his heart 
was large and tender, his insight was like that of woman, 
his memory held all it got, his repartee and wit were the 
best that the Irish blood of his gifted mother could pro- 
duce, and his courage and conscience were never sepa- 
rated in the many battles of his checkered life. The 
question with him was never whether a certain course 
was popular or unpopular, but was it right? Elijah 
facing Ahab, and John before Herod, were fit types of 
this modern-day hero. When he broke with his Baptist 
brethren, many of them said to him : ''Your friends will 
abandon you; you will get nothing for your preaching; 
your debts will press you to the earth, and, eventually, 
your home must be given up.'' His noble reply was: 
"Conscience is an article that I have never yet brought 
into the market; but if I should offer it for sale, Mont- 
gomery County, with all its lands and houses, would 



172 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

not be enough to buy it, much less that farm of one 
hundred acres." 

But it is as a great preacher that Smith will be re- 
membered. He knew the gospel, and was loyal to it; 
he knew man, and loved him ; and God had been lavish 
in his gifts as a preacher. A single sermon is all that 
we can give. It was delivered at Crab Orchard, Ky., 
at a meeting of the Tate Creek Association. The house 
was so crowded that business could not be transacted, 
and Jacob Creath suggested that some one preach to 
the overflow in the grove. Two men tried, but they 
could not hold the people, and they were beginning to 
disperse. Smith was urged to speak. He arose and 
faced the restless multitude which v\^as rapidly leaving 
the stand, and his first W'ork was to stop them. Raising 
his rich, mellow voice so that all could hear, he said: 
"Stay, friends, and hear what the great Augustine said. 
Augustine wished to see three things before he died-- 
Rome in her glory, Paul on Mars Hill and Jesus in the 
flesh." A few sat down, but many moved on. 

In louder tones he cried: ''Will you not stay and 
hear what the great Cato said? Cato repented of three 
things before his death : first, that he had ever spent an 
idle day; second, that he had ever gone on a voyage 
by water when he might have made the same journey 
by land, and, third, that he had ever told the secrets of 
his bosom to a woman." Many more were seated. 

But he continued: ''Come, friends, and hear what 
the great Thales thanked the gods for. Thales thanked 
the gods for three things: first, that he was endowed 
with reason, and was not a brute ; second, that he was a 
Greek, and not a barbarian ; and, third, that he was a 
man, not a woman." By this time all were seated, and 
the sermon began. 



SMITH AND RICHARDSON 173 

His theme was ''Redemption;'' his text was Ps. 3: 
9: "He sent redemption to his people; he hath com- 
manded his covenant for ever; holy and reverend is his 
name." His analysis was threefold: (i) Redemption 
as conceived; (2) redemption as applied; (3) redemp- 
tion as completed. He seemed inspired for the occa- 
sion. His voice, like a trumpet, reached and thrilled 
the most distant hearer, and his thought swept the audi- 
ence like a storm sweeps the sea. The people crowded 
closer to hear him, and some who could find neither 
sitting nor standing room, climbed the trees, so that even 
the forest swayed to and fro as if under the magic spell 
of the mighty preacher. And when he reached his climax 
in the third division, and portrayed the final glory of the 
redeemed, every heart was filled with emotion, every eye 
swam in tears of joy, every face was radiant with hope, 
and at the close one loud ''Amen" ascended into the 
heavens. 

Next to Campbell and Stone, John Smith did more 
for primitive Christianity in Kentucky than any other 
man. Grafton pays him a true and graceful tribute, 
when he says : "John Smith was a typical pioneer. What 
Daniel Boone and David Crockett were to the early 
social and political life of Kentucky and Tennessee, 
John Smith was to religious society of that period." 

On Feb. 28, 1868, while on a visit to his daughter, 
Mrs. Ringo, at Mexico, Mo., he fell asleep in Jesus. 
Among his last words were these : "What a great failure 
after all, would my long and checkered life have been 
but for this glorious hope of a hereafter!" 

DR. ROBERT RICHARDSON. 

Dr. Robert Richardson, the "historian of the Refor- 
mation," did a work which is not appreciated according 



174 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

to its worth. He had not those gifts which lead their 
possessor into the ''limeHght/' and yet his gifts were of 
the greatest importance, and without them the move- 
ment would have been greatly marred. 

One of Walter Scott's best friends was the father 
of Dr. Richardson. And when Scott began teaching at 
Pittsburgh, he placed his son in his school. The boy 
before had been taught by Thomas Campbell. Scott and 
young Richardson became ardent friends, and so con- 
tinued through life. 

Time passed on^ and Richardson entered the medical 
profession, and Scott the evangelistic field. The young 
man, after much Bible study, decided to become a Chris- 
tian, and he left his practice, and went in search of his 
old teacher by whom he wished to be baptized. After 
a horseback trip of 120 miles, he found him holding a 
meeting in a barn near Shalesville, O. He reached him 
on the third day, which was the Lord's Day, just as the 
audience was dismissed. Six persons were preparing 
to be baptized, and Richardson joined them, and from 
that day the young physician gave himself unreservedly 
to the service of his Lord. 

Dr. Richardson was born with a fine brain, and it 
was carefully cultivated. Perhaps we have never had 
among us one of superior literary taste and culture. He 
was specially fond of the classical languages and the 
natural sciences, which made him invaluable as a colaborer 
with Mr. Campbell. Campbell was fond of generaliza- 
tion, but somewhat averse to details ; but Richardson 
never lost sight of the most minute things. The former, 
as the chief surveyor, ran the long lines which marked 
the boundaries of nations and States, and the latter 
divided the territory into counties and townships. Be- 
sides his native aversion to details, Mr. Campbell was 



SMITH AND RICHARDSON 175 

so burdened with the weightier matters of the kingdom 
that he had neither time nor strength for other things. 

Dr. Richardson was pre-eminently a Bible student. 
He was not only critical in his investigations, but he was 
deeply spiritual. The Book was his meditation day and 
night. His library was large and well selected, and it 
enabled him to search skillfully the sacred pages as 
one seeking "goodly pearls," and he found them. He 
also had a clear-cut conception of the Restoration move- 
ment, and, as a well-trained logician, with a charming 
literary style, he presented it with strength, vigor and 
beauty. His tract on the ''Principles of the Reforma- 
tion" has never been excelled, which is saying much for 
it, for this has been a favorite theme with many of our 
best writers. His work on "The Office of the Holy 
Spirit," a volume of 324 pages, is a book of abiding 
merit. But his "Memoirs of A. Campbell," two large 
volumes of 1,248 pages, is his masterpiece. It is a model 
of good taste and pure English, and will remain a stand- 
ard among those who would know the genius and his- 
tory of this great spirit. 

In 1835 he was induced by Mr. Campbell to come to 
Bethany and occupy the chair of chemistry in Bethany 
College. Here he was not only eminently successful as 
a teacher, but his Christlike character soon found for him 
a warm place in the heart of every one, but especially 
the student body, who tenderly designated him as the 
"sage of Bethpage." He also became Mr. Campbell's 
chief helper in conducting the Millennial Harbinger. 
The Christian Baptist, like the harbinger of the Master, 
had prepared the way for something larger and better, 
and the Harbinger had taken its place. The seed had 
been sown, and now it must be cultivated; the land had 
been spied out, and now its conquest must be directed; 



176 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

scattered disciples were in many places, and their or- 
ganization and culture must be looked after; and hence 
this larger and broader-scoped journal was a necessity. 
And Dr. Richardson was the man to aid the editor in 
this larger work At this time of unavoidable strife, 
the controversial spirit needed to be restrained, and he 
could do it without the sacrifice of truth. And often 
the chief editor was away, but his able assistant was 
so efficient that no injury resulted from his absence. 

The Harbinger is saturated with the writings of Dr. 
Richardson during this important period, and eternity 
alone can reveal the full value of that service. It was 
his influence in a large measure that saved the movement 
from narrowness and bigotry, and gave to it that breadth 
and scope without which it could not have attained its 
present splendid proportions and power. So invaluable 
were his services that his name deserves to be closely 
associated with the Campbells, Stone, Scott, Smith, and 
the other clear-headed and brave-hearted pioneers who 
did so much for us during the critical years of our child- 
hood. 





Samuel Rogers. 



Jacob Creath. 




Adam SON Bentlby. 





D. S. Burnett. 



ToLBERT Fanning. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

Clear Thinking and Wonderful Success. 

Theory of Union Tested — Case of Aylett Raines — Faith 

and Opinion as Seen by Campbell, Stone and Errett 

— Success and Its Causes — Eighteen Heroes. 

Theories, however beautiful and promising, are 
worthless if not workable. The Patent Office is full of 
patents with faultless models, but they will not work. 
In this utilitarian age men have a way of testing such 
things. If they can show good results, they adopt them; 
if not, they cast them aside. The Campbells had been 
for years preaching a theory of Christian union. In- 
stinctively good men were interested, and hoped it would 
prove true. The slogan, ''Where the Bible speaks, we 
speak; where the Bible is silent, we are silent," looked 
all right to those who believed the Bible to be the word 
of God. And when the forces of Stone and Campbell 
were united, there was rejoicing among these people, but 
''some doubted.'' They believed the glittering scheme 
a "rope of sand,'' and that, when properly tested, it 
would go to pieces. And these doubters did not have 
to wait long for just such a case as they wanted. Aylett 
Raines, a Restorationist preacher of Ohio, a fine young 
man, furnished the test. 

He and Walter Scott were operating in the Western 
Reserve at the same time, but had never met. Scott 
was stirring things immensely, and Raines, as the leader 
of the Restorationists, felt it his duty to counteract his 
influence, and he attended one of his meetings in order 
that he might know at first-hand just what he taught. 

177 



ITS THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

Scott was in the habit of giving objectors a hearing, 
and Raines, fond of controversy, went there to be heard. 
But the sermon so impressed him that he had no desire 
to file objections. He continued to hear him, and was 
more and more impressed, until he decided that Scott 
was right and he was wrong. But so much was at 
stake that he took time to consider before acting. He 
would think and pray over it, and would confer with his 
brethren. He had a preaching tour of several weeks, 
and he would fill his appointments, and present the new 
views received from Scott, and thus see what others 
thought of them. He found any amount of criticism, 
but it was so feeble that it only confirmed him in his 
new faith. At the end of the tour he spent four days 
in a friendly conference w^ith one of his preaching breth- 
ren — E. Williams — a man of prominence and influence, 
and, as a result, Williams was converted, and they bap- 
tized each other, and threw themselves at once into the 
work with Scott. In a few weeks Mr. Raines had im- 
mersed fifty people, including three more of his preach- 
ing brethren. Soon he had the good fortune to spend 
several days with Thomas Campbell, with whom he was 
greatly pleased, and from whom he derived much profit, 
sitting at the feet of the aged teacher. I\Ir. Campbell 
W'as also delighted with Mr. Raines. 

Scott's first year as evangelist for the Mahoning As- 
sociation was drawing to a close, and God had blessed 
his servant wath a thousand conversions, and had en- 
abled him to establish the principles of the Restoration 
movement all through the association. The annual meet- 
ing at Warren, O., promised to be a large one. Three 
facts accounted for the unusual attendance: (i) The 
splendid report of the evangelist; (2) Alexander Camp- 
bell would preach the opening sermon; (3) the case of 



WONDERFUL SUCCESS 179 

Aylett Raines would be considered. It was generally 
understood that Raines still held to his old views on 
Restoration, and many thought he should be required 
to renounce these, or be denied a place in the associa- 
tion. Mr. Campbell was aware of this, and it shaped 
his sermon for the occasion. He chose for a text Rom. 
14: I : ''Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not 
to doubtful disputations;'' or, as given in the new ver- 
sion, ''without regard to differences of opinion.'' The 
sermon w^as worthy of the great preacher, and of the 
great occasion, and it developed a fundamental principle 
in the union question by drawing clearly the dift'erences 
between faith and opinion. 

The next day the case came before the association, 
and Thomas Campbell was the first to speak. He re- 
gretted that such questions should be brought up, be- 
cause they would produce discord among brethren. He 
said that Raines was a Restorationist and he was a Cal- 
vinist, "but, notwithstanding this dift'erence of opinion, 
I would put my right hand into the fire and have it burnt 
off before I would hold up my hand against him." 

Alexander Campbell followed with an address which 
cleared away the confusion, and led to a solution of the 
matter. He made the difference between faith and 
opinion stand out so distinctly that all saw it, and he 
showed that Raines' views were a question of opinion, 
and not faith, because there w^as no testimony in the 
Book on the subject, and therefore it could not be a 
matter of faith. He suggested that Mr. Raines promise 
his brethren to preach the gospel as the apostles preached 
it, and retain his opinions as private property. He 
prophesied that if he would do this, these opinions would 
vanish, and he would soon, like Paul, be preaching noth- 
ing but Christ and him crucified. Walter Scott followed 



180 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

in a speech, heartily commending Mr. Campbell's advice. 
Mr. Raines gladly made the promise, and when the vote 
v^as taken he was retained in the association. Thus the 
question of speculative opinions as a test of fellowship 
— one always fraught with evil, if not wisely handled — 
was settled, unity was preserved, and the church was 
saved from a sore calamity. 

This incident shows that Mr. Campbell understood 
thoroughly the question of Christian union. It was true 
that Raines held some peculiar views, but since all men 
hold such views on that or some other questions, he was 
not peculiar after all. His faith, his life, his love and 
his loyalty were right, and he should be fellowshiped 
fully in spite of any faulty views he might have. Unity 
in faith and diversity in opinion was the only possible 
road to union. 

Years later, in his debate with N. L. Rice, Mr. Camp- 
bell said: 

''We long since learned the lesson to draw a well- 
defined boundary between faith and opinion, and, while 
we earnestly contend for the faith, to allow perfect free- 
dom of opinion, and of the expression of the opinion, is 
the true philosophy of church union and the sovereign 
antidote against heresy. Hence in our communion at 
this moment we have as strong Calvinists and as strong 
Arminians, I presume, as any in this house — certainly 
many that have been such. Yet we go hand in hand in 
one faith, one hope, and in all Christian union and co- 
operation in the great cause of personal sanctification 
and human redemption. It is not our object to make 
men think alike on a thousand themes. Let them think 
as they like on any matters of human opinion, and upon 
doctrines of religion, provided only they hold the head 
Christ and keep his commandments. I have learned not 



WONDERFUL SUCCESS 181 

only the theory, but the fact, that, if you want opinions 
to cease or subside, you must not debate everything that 
men think and say. You may debate anything into con- 
sequence J or you may, by a dignified silence, waste it into 
oblivion. 

'The great cardinal principles upon which the king- 
dom rests are made intelligible to all, and every one who 
sincerely believes these and is baptized is, without any 
other instrument, creed, covenant or bond, entitled to 
the rank and immunities of the city of God, the spiritual 
Jerusalem, the residence of the King. It embraces all 
that believe in Jesus as the Christ, of all nations, sects 
and parties, and makes them all one in Christ Jesus.'' 

Barton W. Stone is equally clear. Speaking of the 
union consummated at Lexington, he says : 

''It may be asked. Is there no difiference among you? 
We answer we do not know, nor are we concerned to 
know. We have never asked them what was their 
opinion, nor have they asked us. If they have opinions 
different from ours, they are welcome to them, provided 
they do not endeavor to impose them on us as articles 
of faith. They say the same of us. 

"It may be asked, Have you no creed or confession 
as a common bond of union? We answer. Yes. We 
have a perfect one, delivered to us from heaven, and 
confirmed by Jesus and his apostles — we mean the New 
Testament. We have learned from the earliest history 
of the church to the present time that the adoption of 
man-made creeds has been the invariable cause of di- 
vision. We have therefore rejected all such creeds as 
bonds of union, and have determined to rest on that 
alone given by divine authority, being well assured that 
it will bind together all who live in the spirit of it." 

Never since the apostolic age had the very heart of 



182 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

the union question been more clearly presented, and 
never, even in that age, did men have a better apprecia- 
tion of it. It was to be in faith, not in opinions, and it 
was to deal with fundamentals, and not incidentals. In 
dealing with this mighty problem these men saw that 
it w^as just as important to ignore the unimportant as it 
was to emphasize the important. 

Isaac Errett, one of our later leaders, and one of our 
most representative men, says : 

"With us the divinity and Christhood of Jesus is 
more than a mere item of doctrine — it is the central 
truth of the Christian system, and, in an important sense, 
the creed of Christianity. It is the one fundamental 
truth which we are jealously careful to guard against 
all compromise. If men are right about Christ, Christ 
will bring them right about everything else. We there- 
fore preach Jesus Christ and him crucified. We demand 
no other faith in order to baptism and church member- 
ship than the faith of the heart that Jesus is the Christ, 
the Son of the living God ; nor have we any term or bond 
of fellowship but faith in this divine Redeemer and obe- 
dience to him. All who trust in the Son of God and 
obey him are our brethren, however wrong they may be 
about anything else; and those who do not trust in the 
divine Saviour for salvation and obey his command- 
ments are not our brethren, however intelligent and ex- 
cellent they may be in all beside. ... In judgments 
merely inferential, we reach conclusions as nearly unani- 
mous as we can; and where we fail, exercise forbear- 
ance, in the confidence that God will lead us into final 
agreement. In matters of opinion — that is, matters 
touching which the Bible is either silent or so obscure 
as not to admit of definite conclusion — we allow the 
largest liberty, so long as none judges his brother, or 



WONDERFUL SUCCESS 1S3 

insists in forcing his opinions on others, or on making 
them an occasion of strife/' 

The numerical success, beginning about this time and 
continuing to the present, is phenomenal, and it has been 
much discussed by the religious world. But the cause of 
it is not far to seek. It is a natural growth, and is trace- 
able to fundamental causes: 

1. The light was becoming clearer to the workers. 
Up to this time they had been threading their way 
through a forest of difficulties, and their vision was not 
perfectly clear. Neither had their forces been well or- 
ganized. 

2. The masses wanted a change. Most of their 
teachers were mystical, theoretical and speculative: a 
poor pabulum for hungry souls. Famine prepares us 
for food. No cook, hov/ever good, and no viands, how- 
ever rich, are appreciated by the man without an appetite. 

3. The menu was what they needed. (i) They 
gave them a new view of the Book. It was no longer a 
heterogeneous mass of spiritual truth, without system, 
but an orderly revelation worthy of its Author. The 
Grod of the stars was the God of the Bible, and the 
former was not more systematic in their movements 
than the latter. Genesis and Matthew, and Malachi and 
Revelation, were the opening and closing sections of its 
two great divisions — not by accident, but by design. (2) 
They made distinct the difference between the Old 
Testament and the New. One was specially for the 
Jew, the other for all men ; one was temporary, the other 
permanent; one told about Mt. Sinai and Moses, the 
other about Calvary and the Christ. (3) They exalted 
the Book above all man-made creeds, as the one all- 
sufficient, and the alone-sufficient, rule of faith and prac- 
tice for the children of God. (4) They plead for union 

(7) 



184 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

in the Christ and on the Bible. (5) They emphasized the 
difference between faith and opinion, and showed how 
men with a diversity of opinions might be one in the 
church. (6) They met the great objections to Calvinism 
by showing that election had reference to character, and 
not to individuals. (7) They laid special stress on the 
human side of salvation, and showed that, while it was 
offered to all, it was forced upon none. (8) They 
taught that the Holy Spirit in conversion did not operate 
directly and miraculously on the heart, but through the 
gospel, and in harmony with the gospel. (9) They were 
striving to reproduce the New Testament church in its 
name, its teachings, its creed, its life and its ordinances. 
(10) And last, and best, they were re-enthroning Christ 
as the central thought in Christianity, and making it 
clear that a personal Saviour for a personal sinner, and 
not a system of doctrines^ was the proper object of faith. 
4. The men were worthy of the message. In spirit- 
ual, as well as material, warfare the man behind the 
gun is an all-important factor. The gun may be the 
best, but it can not do its best without a real hero to 
handle it. Even a message from God needs manly men 
to deliver it. The messenger leaves his impress on the 
message. The careful reader can detect the individu- 
ality of Paul and Peter and John in their writings. The 
sun shining through the colored window carries with it 
every tint on the glass. And these were grand men. 
They were worthy successors of those of the apostolic 
age, and were ready to live or die for the Master, ac- 
cording to his command. They possessed in a large 
measure the four elements of true manhood — brains, 
conviction, courage and consecration. Not many of them 
were college men, but they had the rugged common sense 
characteristic of pioneers. They believed truth a sacred 



WONDERFUL SUCCESS 185 

thing, and her voice was an end of controversy. They 
sacrificed home, friends, pleasure and all, and without 
money and without price they answered the Macedonian 
cry and carried the message wherever it was possible for 
them to go. Here are a few names from this long list 
of worthies: J. T. Johnson, P. S. Fall, J. A. Gano, T. M. 
Allen, D. S. Burnett, James Challen, Samuel Church, 
Chester Bullard, Silas Shelburne, Jacob Creath (Sr. and 
Jr.), R. H. Coleman, Joseph Gaston, John Henry, Adam- 
son Bentley, William Hayden, John and Samuel Rogers. 
Many others, just as worthy, would be mentioned, but 
we have not the space. Their names are in the Lamb's 
Book of Life, and the Lord has already welcomed them 
to their glorious reward. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

Four Debates. 

Controversy Unavoidable — Debate with Walker — Debate 
with McCalla — Debate with Purcell — A Thrilling 
Incident — Debate with Rice — CampbelVs Opin- 
ion — Modern Woidd-be Leaders. 

Controversy was unavoidable at this time. Popular 
error can not be pulled down and unpopular truth ex- 
alted in its place without controversy. This is true alike 
in all realms — the religious, scientific, literary and polit- 
ical. And yet many good men are opposed to it. Moses, 
in giving the law, was a controversialist. Elijah, in 
restoring the law, was a controversialist. John the Bap- 
tist, in preparing the way of the Lord, was a contro- 
versialist. The Master was a controversialist. The 
apostles, trained by the Saviour, were controversialists. 
Paul, the greatest convert to Christianity, and the chief 
defender of the early church, was a controversialist. 
The same was true of Luther, Calvin and Knox, and it 
could not be otherwise with Mr. Campbell. He did not 
desire it, but it could not be avoided. And when it was 
forced upon him, he not only found himself treading in 
the footsteps of these noble spirits, but also in those of 
the Saviour. Matthew, the fullest of the four Gospels, de- 
votes a fourth of his narrative to the controversial in 
the life of his Lord. Mr. Campbell was specially fitted 
for this work. He did not love victory for victory's 
sake, but for the sake of truth. He was strong in head 
and heart, and was a man of liberal culture; and in all 
his debates he moved majestically on a lofty plane, 

186 



FOUR DEBATES 187 

and to-day he stands as a dialectician without a peer. 

We have already (Chap. XVI.) given an account 
of his debate on the evidences of Christianity, and now 
some others are to be noticed. His first public debate 
was with Rev. John Walker, a Presbyterian preacher, 
at Mt. Pleasant, O., in 1820. Thomas Campbell opposed 
such discussion, and it was not until the son had con- 
ferred with his father, and other prominent brethren, 
that he accepted the challenge in this case. We are care- 
ful as to this, for some have thought him a sort of 
''theological pugilist,'' always anxious for discussion. 
But it is a fact that, in most cases, as here, he acted on 
the defensive. 

Mr. Walker led off with the old covenant argument 
in favor of infant baptism, claiming that baptism to-day 
took the place of circumcision, and since circumcision 
was administered to infants then, so baptism should be 
administered to them now. Mr. Campbell made four 
telling points against this argument: (i) That circum- 
cision was connected with temporal blessings, but bap- 
tism was connected with the spiritual. (2) That circum- 
cision was administered to male children only, but bap- 
tism was administered to both sexes. (3) That circum- 
cision was administered on the eighth day, but baptism 
was administered at any convenient time. (4) That 
circumcision was limited to Abraham's children, and 
those bought with Abraham's money, but baptism was 
administered to Gentiles as well as Jews. 

This has a familiar sound to-day, but then, almost 
a hundred years ago, it was new, startling and revolu- 
tionary, and it sounded the death-knell of this famous 
old argument. True, it was used later, but it never re- 
covered from this wound. 

Driven from this position, Mr. Walker fled to that 



188 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

of the household baptisms of the New Testament, 
claiming that, as infants are generally found in the 
households, they were baptized in these five cases. But 
Mr. CampbelFs reply was clear and conclusive. He 
showed that incidental circumstances proved that there 
were no infants in these households. He said: ''All the 
house of Cornelius feared God and received the Holy 
Spirit. Lydia's household was comforted as brethren. 
The word of the Lord was spoken to all in the jailer's 
house, and they all rejoiced, believing in God as well as 
himself. All the household of Crispus believed on the 
Lord; and the house of Stephanas addicted themselves 
to the ministry of the saints. Now, if these things which 
are affirmed of all the baptized will not apply to infants, 
then it is plain that no infants were baptized in these 
homes.'' 

Two speeches each were devoted to the action of 
baptism. 

The discussion was generally regarded as a victory 
for Mr. Campbell, and it had two important effects on 
his future life: (i) He discovered in himself a gifted 
debater, and he determined to use these gifts, as oppor- 
tunity offered, for the good of truth. (2) He discovered 
in the publication of the debate in book form the value 
of the printed page. In 1822 he held another debate 
with Rev. WilHam McCalla, which was published. And 
in 1823 he launched the Christian Baptist (Chap. XIV.), 
which continued seven years, and was mightily blessed 
of God. From this hour his pen was mightier than his 
voice, for with it he reached thousands whom he never 
saw, both in this land and across the sea. 

In 1837 Mr. Campbell had his most famous dis- 
cussion. During October of the preceding year he ad- 
dressed the College of Teachers in Cincinnati, O. His 



FOUR DEBATES 189 

theme was ''Moral Culture/' and he claimed that modern 
civilization, in a large measure, was traceable to the 
Lutheran Reformation. Bishop Purcell, of the Catholic 
Church, took issue with him, and said that the ''Reforma- 
tion had been the cause of all the contention and in- 
fidelity in the world/' Mr. Campbell promptly informed 
him that he was ready for a discussion of their differ- 
ences. Purcell did not reply at once, and an impatient 
community, much disturbed by the efforts of the Catho- 
lics to exclude the Bible from the public schools, got up 
a large petition urging Mr. Campbell to come to the 
defense of Protestantism against Rome. And it was 
finally agreed to have a debate of seven days between 
these gentlemen in Cincinnati, beginning Jan. 13, 1837. 
Mr. Campbell affirmed these seven propositions : 

"i. The Roman Catholic institution, sometimes called 
the Holy Apostolic Church, is not, nor was she ever, 
catholic, apostolic or holy, but is a sect, in the fair import 
of that word, older than any other sect now existing; 
not the mother and mistress of all churches, but an 
apostasy from the only true and apostolic church of 
Christ. 

"2. Her notion of apostolic succession is without any 
foundation in the Bible, in reason, or in fact ; an imposi- 
tion of the most injurious consequences, built upon un- 
scriptural and antiscriptural traditions, rested wholly 
upon the opinions of interested and fallible men. 

"3. She is not uniform in her faith or united in her 
members, but unstable and fallible as any other sect of 
philosophy or religion — ^Jewish, Turkish or Christian — 
a confederation of sects under a politico-ecclesiastic head. 

"4. She is the Babylon of John, the man of sin of 
Paul, and the empire of the youngest horn of Daniel's 
sea-monster. 



190 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

''5. Her notions of purgatory, indulgences, auricular 
confession, supererogation, etc., essential elements of 
her system, are immoral in their tendency and injurious 
to the well-being of society, religious and political. 

"6. Notwithstanding her pretensions to have given 
us the Bible and faith in it, we are perfectly independent 
of her for our knowledge of that book and its evidences 
of divine origin. 

*'7. The Roman Catholic religion, if infallible and 
unsusceptible of reformation, as alleged, is essentially 
anti- American, being opposed to the genius of all free 
institutions, and positively subversive of them, opposing 
the general reading of the Scriptures and the diffusion 
of useful knowledge among the whole community, so 
essential to liberty and the permanency of good govern- 
ment." 

It required courage to affirm these seven revolutionary 
propositions, with such an opponent as Purcell. But no 
man was better prepared for the task than Mr. Camp- 
bell. His life up to young manhood had been spent 
in priest-ridden Ireland, where he saw the system under 
its true colors, and learned to loathe it, as he did every 
system of oppression. His thorough knowledge of the 
history of the church all through her bloody career made 
him familiar with the ground over which he had to pass. 
And his undenominational attitude to the creeds of 
Christendom left him untrammeled in the defense of 
Christianity as no party man could possibly be. A single 
quotation from his opening address shows his appre- 
ciation of this last point. ''I come not here," he said, 
'*to advocate the particular tenets of any sect, but to 
defend the great cardinal principles of Protestantism." 

This was a battle between giants on a question of 
transcendent importance, and the interest in it was deep 



FOUR DEBATES 191 

and widespread. Throughout the discussion Mr. Camp- 
bell fully sustained himself as a Christian gentleman and 
powerful defender of the truth. The Protestant clergy 
of Cincinnati and vicinity, among whom was the famous 
Lyman Beecher, were hearty in their commendation. 
Much prejudice against him was dissipated, and his 
great plea for the restoration of the ancient order of 
things was heard by them and their people more kindly. 

The audiences were large and increased to the close, 
and so appreciative were they that, at a mass-meeting, 
resolutions were adopted, declaring ''that it is the unani- 
mous opinion of this meeting that the cause of Protes- 
tantism has been fully sustained throughout the discus- 
sion." The debate was published, and had a large sale. 
It is perhaps the strongest thing of its kind in the Eng- 
lish language. 

The following thrilling incident, worthy of special 
mention, occurred during the debate. Mr. Campbell, 
quoting from the ''Moral Philosophy of Alphonsus de 
Liguori,'' used this passage : 

"A bishop, however poor he may be, can not appro- 
priate to himself pecuniary fines without the license of 
the Apostolic See. But he ought to apply them to pious 
uses. Much less can he apply those fines to anything 
else than religious uses, which the Council of Trent has 
laid upon non-resident clergymen, or upon those clergy- 
men who keep concubines." 

The object of this stinging quotation was to show 
that among the Roman priesthood marriage was a worse 
crime than concubinage, for the former brought an im- 
mediate excommunication, but the latter was winked atj 
and only fined. 

Purcell indignantly denied that Catholics had ever 
taught such doctrine, and said that no such passage was 



192 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

in Liguori's works. Pointing to the nine volumes of this 
author on the stand, he said: "I have examined these 
volumes from cover to cover, and in none of them can 
so much as a shadow be found of the infamous charges/' 
He then requested Mr. Kinmount, a classical teacher, 
to examine Liguori and find, if possible, this particular 
passage. The next day Purcell brought this gentleman 
to the platform, and he told the audience that he had 
not been able to find the passage. 

At this the most intense excitement prevailed, and it 
looked bad for Mr. Campbell. His quotation was not 
directly from Liguori, but from an English synopsis made 
by a Mr. Smith, of New York, a converted Catholic. 
He finally got in touch with Mr. Smith, who told him 
that he would find the language on page 444 of Volume 
Vin. Asking the loan of this volume from Purcell, he 
turned to this page, and found it word for word as he 
had quoted it, in the bishop's own edition. But he did 
not stop here. He took the original Latin and the synopsis 
of Mr. Smith to Mr. Kinmount, who certified that it was 
a faithful translation. And so Mr. Campbell was vin- 
dicated, and his prestige greatly increased, while his 
opponent correspondingly suffered at the hands of the 
public. 

Mr. Campbell's last debate vv^as with Rev. N. L. Rice 
(Presbyterian), in Lexington, Ky., beginning Nov. 15, 
1843, ^^d continuing sixteen days. Rev. R. J. Breck- 
enridge, one of their most distinguished men, was asked 
to meet Mr. Campbell, but he declined, saying: *'No, sir, 
I will never be Alexander Campbell's opponent. A man 
who has done what he has to defend Christianity against 
infidelity, to defend Protestantism against the delusions 
and usurpations of Catholicism, I will never oppose in 
public debate. I esteem him too highly." And so Mr. 



FOUR DEBATES 193 

Rice, a man wholly unlike Mr. Campbell, was selected. 
The one has been compared to a great miHtary leader, 
marshaling his forces in regular military order, and 
fighting his battles according to the highest rules known 
in material warfare ; the other to a guerrilla captain, who 
avoids the open field, and seeks from ambush to fall 
upon his foe at some unguarded point and inflict a tem- 
porary injury. 

An example will show the broad sweep of Mr. Camp- 
bell's mind. He was aiming to establish the general 
rule that ''where words denote specific action, their 
derivatives through all their various flexions and modi- 
fications retain the specific meaning of the root.'' Ap- 
plying this philosophic rule to bapto, he showed that in 
its two thousand flexions and modifications it retained 
the radical syllable hap, and so never lost the idea of dip. 
His illustration was as follows: ''Agriculturists, horti- 
culturists, botanists will fully comprehend me when I 
say that, in all the domain of vegetable nature, untouched 
by human art, as the root, so is the stem, and so are the 
branches. H the root be oak, the stem can not be ash, 
nor the branches cedar. What would you think, Mr. 
President, of the sanity or veracity of a backwoodsman 
who would affirm that he found in the state of nature 
a tree whose root was oak, whose stem was cherry, 
whose boughs were pear, and whose leaves were chest- 
nut? If these grammarians and philologists have been 
happy in their analogies drawn from the root and 
branches of trees to illustrate the derivations of words, 
how singularly fantastic the genius that creates a philo- 
logical tree whose root is hapto, whose stem is cheo, 
whose branches are rantizo, and whose fruit is karharizo! 
or, if not too ludicrous and preposterous for English 
ears, whose root is dip, whose trunk is pour, whose 



194 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

branches are sprinkle, and whose fruit is purification T 
Here is another example of his masterly work: ''The 
question now before us/' he says, ''concerns the action 
— the thing commanded to be done. This is, of course, 
the most important point — the significant and all-impor- 
tant point. Paul gives it high rank and consequence 
when he says, 'There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism.' 
There are not two modes of any one of these. When 
we have ascertained that one action called baptism, there 
can be no other. It is wholly sophistical to talk of two 
modes of baptism, unless, indeed, it be two ways of im- 
mersing a person. In this there may be a plurality of 
modes. A person may be immersed backwards or for- 
wards, kneeling or standing. Other modes than these 
there can not be. Sprinkling is not a mode of immers- 
ing; neither is immersion a mode of sprinkling. If 
sprinkling, pouring or immersion be modes of baptism, 
then I ask what is the thing called baptism? Who can 
explain this? Of what are these three specifically dif- 
ferent actions a mode? If sprinkling be a mode, then 
baptism is something incognito — something which no 
philologist or lexicographer can explain. I pronounce 
these modes an unmeaning, sophistical jargon, which no 
one can comprehend. Baptism is not a mode — it is an 
action. The word that represents it is improperly, by 
Mr. Carson, called a word of mode. It is a specific 
action; and the verb that represents it is a verb of spe- 
cific import ; else there is no such verb in Hebre'w, Greek 
or Latin." 

It would be refreshing to have the comment of Mr. 
Campbell on the teachings of a little coterie of would-be 
leaders among us who have so far departed from his 
teaching as to speak of "immersion baptism.'' 

The debate, a volume of more than nine hundred 



FOUR DEBATES 195 ■ 

pages, has had a large sale. The Presbyterians for a 

time encouraged its circulation, one of them having \ 

bought the copyright. But it was soon seen that it was \ 

not to their interest to circulate it, and it was sold to a 

friend of the Restoration movement, and the sale was \ 

i 

greatly increased. I 



CHAPTER XXIIL 

Educational. 

Bethany — Transylvania — The Bible College — Hiram — 
Butler — Eureka — Christian University — Drake — 
Texas Christian University — Johnson Bible 
College — Phillips — Cotner — Virginia Chris- 
tian College — Female Colleges — Bible 
Chairs — -Phillips Bible Institute. 

The organization of Bethany College in 1841 marks 
an epoch in the history of the Restoration movement. 
The Campbells, being college men, knew the value of 
education, but until now so many other things occupied 
them that they could not turn their attention to it. They 
knew that brain was greater than brawn; that thought 
ruled the world; that leadership could not be divorced 
from scholarship. They knew that an army by sheer 
courage, numbers and patriotism might achieve great re- 
sults, but the same army, carefully drilled and led by 
trained leaders, has its efficiency multiplied many-fold. 

As early as 1818 Alexander Campbell established in 
his home ''Bufifalo Seminary.'' Educational advantages 
were very meager, and he hoped thus to help the local 
community, while he trained young men for the ministry. 
The school was crowded from the first. But after a few 
years it was discontinued. There were several reasons 
for this. It did not meet his expectations in securing 
young preachers ; his health suffered from the close con- 
finement, and the demand for his services as a preacher 
in important, and often distant, places, increased. 

In 1840 the charter for Bethany College was ob- 

196 





p. S. Fall. 



Robert Milligan. 




C. L. Loos. 





V 



J. W. McGarvey. 



W. K. Pendleton. 



EDUCATIONAL 197 

tained. Mr. Campbell announced this fact to the wrorld, 
with his purposes and plans, and asked the aid of his 
friends. The first response, a gift of $i,ooo, came from 
W. B. Pendleton, of Virginia. And with characteristic 
energy and faith he proceeded, at his own responsibility, 
to erect a large brick building. At a meeting of the 
trustees, September i8, he was elected president, and on 
May lo, 1841, four teachers were added to the Faculty 
— W. K. Pendleton, Andrew F. Ross, Charles Stewart 
and Robert Richardson. The school opened October 21. 

Mr. Campbell's idea of a college was new, in that he 
would make the Bible the chief text-book. "The forma- 
tion of moral character, the culture of the heart," he 
said, ''is the supreme end of education. . . . An immoral 
man is uneducated. The blasphemer, the profane 
swearer, the liar, the calumniator, etc., are uneducated 
persons." 

When the school opened, he began a series of morn- 
ing Bible lectures, which at once became famous. They 
were neither critical nor exegetical, though containing 
both these elements as occasion demanded, but were 
broad generalizations, sweeping through the Book from 
beginning to end, and giving the student a clear and 
comprehensive conception of the doings of God in the 
creation and government of the world. W. T. Moore, 
a Bethany student at that time, says : ''One might not 
remember anything very special that Mr. Campbell said 
in these lectures, but every time he went away from them 
he felt that he was a bigger man. They developed 
growth and stimulated in a high degree the moral uplift. 
While they did not underestimate the value of intel- 
lectual development, they emphasized with intense en- 
thusiasm and an overwhelming conviction that heart- 
life is essential to any worthy manhood.'* 



198 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

Mr. Campbell was the ideal teacher. While his 
Faculty was fine, they, and every one else, knew that he 
was the power that made the school. Garfield's saying 
that ''Mark Hopkins on one end of a log and a student 
on the other would make a university'' was never better 
illustrated than in this case. There can be no great 
school without a great personality. What the teacher is 
gives force to what he says. Words which fall lifeless 
from the lips of others, strengthened and stimulated when 
they came from his lips. There was something in him 
that gripped the student and filled him with a desire to 
be and to do something in the world. It was impossible 
to dwell long in his presence and not feel that there was 
a gold mine in you that must be developed. As a result, 
a large number of men went out from the school accom- 
plished scholars and thorough Bible students, bearing 
the impress of their great teacher, and giving a mighty 
impetus to the principles for which he stood. To call 
the roll of these would show, as nothing else could, how 
much we are indebted to ''Old Bethany." Distinguished 
teachers, preachers, authors and statesmen would answer 
from all over the land. Among the teachers, preachers 
and authors we find Thomas Munnell, O. A. Burgess,. 
Robert Graham, Moses E. Lard, Alexander Procter, 
F. D. Power, J. W. McGarvey, William Baxter, C. L. 
Loos and W. H. Woolery. Among statesmen we find 
Senator Geo. T. Oliver, of Pennsylvania, and Champ 
Clark, Speaker of Congress. In the Judiciary we find 
Joseph L. Lamar on the Supreme Bench. Besides these, 
in the business world and in church work there is a 
multitude doing valiant service in the kingdom of the 
Lord. 

The school, under the leadership of Pres. T. E. 
Cramblet, has passed her threescore and ten years, and 



EDUCATIONAL 19» 

grows better as she grows older. Four large buildings 
have recently been completed, at a cost of $120,000,. 
making eight such structures, besides twenty dwelling- 
houses. During last year Earl W. Oglebay, a wealthy 
Episcopal layman and an alumnus of Bethany, purchased 
the old Alexander Campbell farm at a cost of $25,000, 
and donated it to the Agricultural Department of the 
school. He has erected and equipped a building adjoin- 
ing the old Gothic structure, at a cost of $65,000, for the 
use of the department. He further plans to make the old 
Campbell mansion and grounds, including the cemetery, 
a memorial to Mr. Campbell, provided the plan meets 
with encouragement from the brethren. This home is to 
be a museum, containing Mr. Campbell's books, pictures, 
etc., and all other historic books and documents pertain- 
ing to the development of the Restoration movement. 

The school has property worth almost a half-million 
dollars, with an endowment of $360,000, and 250 stu- 
dents, one-third of whom are preparing for the ministry. 

Some have thought the location of Bethany College 
a mistake, but this is not clear. Of course, it had to be 
west of the Alleghenies, for our people were there ; and, 
this being true, Bethany possessed decided advantages 
as a location. It was in Brooke County, Va. (now W. 
Va.), forty miles south of Pittsburgh, Pa., and seven 
miles from Wellsburg, on the Ohio River. There were 
no railroads then, and travel was largely confined to the 
waterways. The surroundings were beautiful, pictur- 
esque and healthful. The crystal waters of the Buffalo, 
the rugged mountains, the charming valleys and the 
massive forests made it one of the loveliest and most 
inspiring spots on the earth for student life. The isola- 
tion was a safeguard against the corruptions of the city. 
It was near the center of population, and in easy touch 



200 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

with it. And it is more so now, for a trolley line con- 
nects it with Wellsburg. 

In connection with the story of Bethany College 
that of Transylvania University must also be told. In 
1836 Bacon College was founded at Georgetown, Ky., 
with Walter Scott as president pro tern. To John T. 
Johnson, perhaps more than to any other man, belongs 
the honor of this enterprise. In 1840 it was moved to 
Harrodsburg, and James Shannon became president. 
Mr. Shannon was a power in the educational world. He 
was educated at Belfast Academical (now Royal) Insti- 
tute, Ireland, where he won prizes in Latin, Greek, 
mathematics and natural and moral philosophy. Later 
he was elected president of Missouri University, where 
he did a great work. The school, after a time, was 
moved to Lexington, and was known as Kentucky Uni- 
versity, but is now known as Transylvania University. 
It is the oldest college west of the Alleghenies, and has a 
record of which its friends may well be proud. It really 
began its existence in 1798, with George Washington, 
John Adams, Aaron Burr and General Lafayette as con- 
tributors to the first endowment fund. Henry Clay was 
at one time in the Faculty, and JeflFerson Davis was for 
four years a student. The school is now 114 years old. 
The plant is worth $750,000, and has an endowment of 
half a million dollars and 586 students. R. H. Cross- 
field is president, and the outlook is the brightest in the 
history of this old institution. 

The Bible College, connected with Transylvania, has 
rendered valiant service for the Restoration movement. 
It was organized in 1865 ^s one of the colleges of the 
university, with Robert Milligan as president, and J. W. 
McGarvey his assistant. In a short time I. B. Grubbs 
was added to the Faculty. About fifty-five hundred of 



EDUCATIONAL 201 

our preachers at home and abroad have received all, or 
a chief part, of their education in this school. 

The Kentucky Education Society deserves much 
credit for this wonderful work. It was organized in 
1856 by such men as Philip S. Fall, William Morton and 
John T. Johnson. It has expended more than $100,000 
and aided in the education of more than five hundred 
young men, among whom are many of the leading 
preachers, teachers, writers and missionaries. At first 
its help was a gift, but now it is a loan without interest. 

Bethany and Transylvania deserve the space given 
them, for they were pioneers in educational work. But 
the greatest blessing from them was not the work within 
their own walls, but that which they aroused. The edu- 
cational spirit was quickened, and schools sprang up in 
many places. In 1849 the Western Reserve Eclectic 
Institute was organized at Hiram, O. James A. Garfield, 
afterwards President of the United States, was the sec- 
ond president of the school. Eighteen years later it 
became Hiram College, and is now among our best 
schools. In 1850 Butler College, Indianapolis, Ind,, was 
chartered. It was first known as Northwestern Chris- 
tian University. It is a good school. In 1855 Eureka 
College, Eureka, 111., was launched under the title of 
Walnut Grove Academy. It also has been a success. 
Abington College, of the same State, after years of use- 
fulness, became a part of Eureka College. In 1853 
Christian University, Canton, Mo., was organized. It 
is claimed that this is the first school in the United 
States to grant equal privileges to men and women. It 
is beautifully situated on an eminence overlooking the 
Mississippi River. Many successful preachers have been 
educated at Canton. About this time Oskaloosa College, 
Oskaloosa, la., was founded, and it proved to be the 



202 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

nucleus of Drake University, Des Moines, one of our 
leading educational institutions. It has an enrollment 
of about two thousand, property worth $700,000, an en- 
dowment of $570,000, and has graduated in a single j^ear 
forty preachers from the Bible Department. Hill M. 
Bell is president of this great school. In 1873 Addison 
and Randolph Clark (brothers) moved their private 
school from Ft. Worth, Tex., to Thorp Spring, where 
it was chartered as Add-Ran College. In 1889 the 
school became the property of the Texas churches, with 
the name changed to Add-Ran Christian University. 
In 1895 it was moved to Waco. In 191 1 it returned to 
the place of its birth, and is now known as Texas Chris- 
tian University, with property worth $450,000. F. D. 
Kershner, the new president, is confident of enlarged 
usefulness in the near future. Johnson Bible College, 
formerly the School of Evangelists, Kimberlin Heights, 
Tenn., was founded by Ashley S. Johnson, its first and 
only president, in 1893. He began with $100, ten acres 
of land, two mules, three cows, and one lonely student — 
Albert T. Fitts, of South Carolina — ''plus faith, plus obe- 
dience, plus prayer, plus energy." To-day the plant is 
worth $200,000, and the student body, more than two 
hundred strong, representing a half -hundred States and 
countries, is one of the most promising factors in the 
church of the future. Not one of these young men uses 
tobacco. President Johnson says we must do one of two 
things : train more preachers, or become a ''disappearing 
brotherhood," and he prefers the former, and is doing his 
part in preacher-training. Oklahoma Christian University 
(now Phillips), located at Enid, is a young and vigorous 
school. For several years the necessity for such a school 
for the Middle Southwest has been manifest to thought- 
ful brethren. And in 1906, when Oklahoma and Indian 



EDUCATIONAL 203 

Territories became a State under the name of Oklahoma, 
the opportune time came to act in the matter, E. V. 
Zollars, a leading educator, was selected to lead the en- 
terprise, and T. W. Phillips, a man famous for generous 
deeds, tendered the support of President Zollars while 
the experim.ent was being made. (Mr. Phillips continued 
this support for four years.) Large modern buildings 
have been erected; the enrollment has reached 350, with 
one-fourth of them preparing to preach. The plant is 
worth $150,000, and has an endowment of $25,000. 
Cotner University, Bethany (Lincoln), Neb., was es- 
tablished in 1888, and has been prosperous from the be- 
ginning. Enrollment, 350; property value, $150,000, with 
endowment of $30,000. It has fifty ministerial students. 
Vv^illiam Oeschger is president. Virginia Christian Col- 
lege is located at Lynchburg, and was founded by Jo- 
sephus Hopwood in 1903. It has elegant grounds and 
buildings, worth $200,000, and a student body of 150. 
Prof. O. G. Davis is acting president. 

There are many other schools of sterling worth, but 
we can mention only a few of them : Atlantic Christian 
College, Wilson, N. C. ; Eugene Bible University, 
Eugene, Ore. ; Keuka College, Keuka Park, N. Y. ; Louis- 
ville Christian Bible School, Louisville, Ky. ; Milligan 
College, Alilligan, Tenn. ; Southern Christian College, 
West Point, Miss.; Washington Christian College, 
Washington, D. C. These smaller schools are fighting 
against great odds. They are in danger of being ground 
to powder between the lov/er millstone of the public 
school and the upper millstone of State universities and 
ether largely endowed institutions. And yet they are 
essential to these larger ones, as the thousands of smaller 
tributaries are to the Mississippi River. 

There are also many excellent female colleges. P. S. 



204 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

Fall, at an early da}^ led in this work with a school in 
Frankford, Ky. Missouri has three such schools — Chris- 
tian College, Columbia; William Woods College, Fulton, 
and Missouri Christian College, Camden Point. We 
also mention two in Kentucky — Midway Orphan School, 
Midw^ay, and Hamilton, Lexington. Texas has two — 
Carlton College, Bonham, and Carr-Burdette, Sherman. 

Besides these schools, the Christian Woman's Board 
of Missions has established Bible Chairs at Ann Arbor, 
Mich. ; Charlottesville, Va. ; Lawrence, Kan., and Austin, 
Tex., in connection with the State Universities of these 
States. 

The establishment of so many schools in little more 
than a half century is a marvelous work, and it augurs 
well for the future. 

The latest school enterprise is Phillips Bible Institute, 
Canton, O., founded by T. W. Phillips. The aim of this 
school is to so aid those who have been deprived of col- 
lege training that they may become successful workers 
in the church. This aim is worthy and wise, and we may 
expect its success. The first session began September, 
1912, with a large attendance. Martin L. Pierce is dean 
of the Faculty. 

The College of Missions, Indianapolis, gives special 
help to all missionaries. The second year was an in- 
crease of 100 per cent, over the year before. 

It is safe to say that we have thirty-seven schools 
worthy of special mention, with nine thousand students, 
fourteen hundred of whom, counting those in Yale, 
Harvard, Union, and other universities, are ministerial 
students. 





Judge J. S. Black. 



Gov. F. M. Drake. 




Timothy Coop. 





T. W. Phillips. 



Gov. R. M. Bishop. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

Organization. 

American Christian Missionary Society — Christian 
Woman s Board of Missions — Foreign Christian 
Missionary Society — National Benevolent As- 
sociation — Church Extension — Ministerial 
Relief, 

The American Christian Missionary Society was or- 
ganized in Cincinnati, O., October, 1849, just forty years 
after the publication of the ''Declaration and Address,'' 
and it marks a forward step in the history of the 
Restoration movement. Up to this time questions of 
doctrine and of local church work had so absorbed the 
thought and energies of the leaders that they had no 
time to consider missionary problems. But henceforth 
this is not to be true. 

As early as 1840 the Harbinger was agitating a closer 
alliance of the churches in a wider work than could be 
accomplished by single congregations. And this senti- 
ment so increased that Mr. Campbell, in the February 
issue of 1849, said : "There is now heard from the East 
and from the West, from the North and from the South, 
one general, if not universal, call for a more efficient 
organization of our churches. Experience decides that 
our present co-operative system is comparatively in- 
efficient and inadequate to the exigencies of the times 
and the cause we plead.'' Illustrating this thought, he 
compared the churches to families, and said: "The con- 
stitutional independence and individual responsibilities 
of families do not prevent their association in towns,. 

205 



206 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

cities and States for the better securing their respective 
interests. . . . Such were the tribes of Israel, and such, 
to a certain degree, were the churches planted by the 
apostles.'' Speaking of the details of such organization, 
he said: 'These are wisely left to human wisdom and 
prudence. . . . Such meetings have no special control 
over individual churches, nor any deputed or divine right 
to exercise jurisdiction over particular communities.'' 

But there were some who thought such conventions 
should have the power of *'a sort of morally authorita- 
tive deliverance' in the settlement of the various ques- 
tions which naturally rise in the progress of the work, 
and an effort to this end was made at Cincinnati, but it 
failed. The brethren were extremely anxious to have 
it known that they assumed no authority over the 
churches, and that their action was advisory, and not 
mandatory. And so, W. K. Pendleton, reporting the 
convention, said: "We met, not for the purpose of 
enacting ecclesiastical laws, nor to interfere with the 
Scriptural independence of the churches, but to consult 
about the best ways for giving efficiency to our power 
and to devise such methods of co-operation as our com- 
bined counsels, under the guidance of Providence, might 
suggest and approve." 

Pursuant to a general call, the convention assembled 
in the church at Eighth and Walnut Streets, Monday, 
October 22. The day following, a temporary organiza- 
tion was effected by calling Dr. L. L. Pinkerton to the 
chair and electing John M. Bramwell secretary. Per- 
manent officers were then chosen: President, A. Camp- 
bell, and vice-presidents, D. S. Burnet, John O'Kane, 
John T. Johnson and Walter Scott. 

The convention met for business the next morning at 
nine o'clock. President Campbell being absent on ac- 



ORGANIZATION 20T 

count of sickness, Vice-President Burnet presided. The 
attendance, all things considered, was good. Most of 
the churches were west of the Alleghenies, and were 
without railroad facilities. Many came long distances 
from the Atlantic States, and some from as far South 
as New Orleans. Most of them rode horseback. There 
were 156 messengers from eleven States, representing 
more than one hundred churches. 

Sixty-two years have passed since the organization 
of the American Christian Missionary Society, and she 
has demonstrated her right to live, as the following rec- 
ord shows: Churches established, about four thousand; 
persons baptized, about two hundred thousand; received 
from other sources, about the same number; money 
raised and disbursed, about $2,400,000. Headquarters,. 
Cincinnati. 

The Christian Woman's Board of Missions was or- 
ganized in Cincinnati during the General Convention, 
October, 1874. After much consultation between a 
number of influential women, Mrs. Caroline Pearre 
wrote Thomas Munnell, corresponding secretary of the 
American Christian Missionary Society, presenting their 
plans and asking his advice. In his answer is found 
this beautiful and prophetic sentence: 'This is a flame 
of the Lord's kindling, and no man can extinguish it.'' 
Isaac Errett wrote his famous editorial in the Christian 
Standard, ''Help Those Women," at this time ; J. H. Gar- 
rison also lent the movement the influence of his paper, 
The Christian, now the Christian-Evangelist. About 
seventy-five women participated in the organization. The 
first officers were Mrs. Maria Jameson, President; Mrs. 
William Wallace, Recording Secretary; Mrs. C. N, 
Pearre, Corresponding Secretary, and Mrs. O. A. Bur- 
gess, Treasurer, with headquarters at Indianapolis, Ind. 



208 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

These officers were presented to the convention, and, 
following a cordial reception, the following resolution 
was adopted : ''Resolved^ That this convention extends 
to the Christian Woman's Board of Missions recognition 
and hearty approval, assured that it opens a legitimate 
j[ield of action and usefulness in which Christian women 
may be active co-operants of ours in the great work of 
sending the gospel into all the world. We pledge our- 
selves to help these women who propose to labor with 
us in the gospel/' 

Their motto was, ''The love of Christ constraineth 
us;'' their field was the world, and their plan was to 
organize auxiliary societies in the churches with dues 
of ten cents a month. The following from the first 
president to her first executive committee touches the 
keynote of their plan: "As little, insignificant rivulets 
from unnoticed, hidden springs running together make 
the constant larger stream, which, hurrying on with 
swollen waters, bears its steady contribution to the great 
river, so will the mites of the poor widov/s and the 
pennies of the children and the dollars of the salaried 
women and the larger sums of those with independent 
incomes, flowing together, make one great stream pour- 
ing forth to water and refresh the fields of missionary 
labor." 

Their phenomenal success is an unanswerable argu- 
ment for the wisdom of their plan. The forms of work 
are evangelistic, educational, medical, orphanage, colpor- 
teur, industrial and house-to-house visitation. Their 
fields of labor are the United States, Canada, New Zea- 
land, Jamaica, India, Mexico, Porto Rico, South America 
and Africa. 

The offerings from 1874 to date amount to about 
$4,cxx),ooo, and the property is valued at $800,000. 



ORGANIZATION 209 

The Foreign Christian Missionary Society was or- 
ganized at the National Convention in Louisville, Ky., 
in 1875. Officers were elected as follows: President, 
Isaac Errett; Vice-Presidents, W. T. Moore, Jacob Bur- 
net, J. S. Lamar; Corresponding Secretary, Robert 
Moffett; Recording Secretary, B. B. Tyler; Treasurer, 
W. S. Dickinson, with headquarters in Cincinnati. 

As in the case of the women's work, there was no 
friction or opposition to the "mother society'' in this 
move. It was prompted solely by the conviction that the 
work, both at home and abroad, would be helped by it. 
The two societies have always met together in their 
annual Conventions, and have worked in perfect har- 
mony. 

One of the most important factors in this society is 
"Children's Day." Its origin is natural, beautiful and 
inspiring. Just before the Louisville Convention in 
1880, J. H. Garrison, with his family, was at the family 
altar at the close of the day. The father in his prayer 
asked God to bless their efforts to send the gospel into 
all lands by leading every one to more liberal giving for 
this purpose. At the close of the prayer, their little 
boys, Arthur and Earnest, said: ''We want to give 
something." And they brought their jugs and emptied 
them of their contents of $1.13, and said: "We want 
this to go to the children who know nothing about 
Jesus." The father took it to Louisville, and, in 
an address before the Convention, told the story. It 
touched the hearts and opened the purses of every- 
body. And to-day this pittance has been so multiplied 
that these little ones have more than a million dollars 
to their credit for the evangelization of the world. 

The society is at work in Japan, China, Philippine 
Islands, India, Africa, Cuba, Norway, Sweden, Den- 



210 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

mark and England. The work is varied — evangelistic, 
educational, medical, literary and benevolent. There 
are 169 missionaries and 759 native helpers, totaling 
928. There are ninety-five schools, with 5,096 pupils, 
aud, of this number, 295 native students are preparing 
for the ministry in their native land. Total receipts, 
about $5,200,000. 

The National Benevolent Association was organized 
in St. Louis, Mo., in 1886. The first act of the associa- 
tion was to aid a sick brother who had a large family 
dependent upon his labor. The first donation was $5, 
which came from Galena, Kan. The association was 
incorporated in 1887, with St. Louis as headquarters, 
and the first home was opened in that city, in 1889, ^^ ^ 
rented cottage. 

The aim of the association is to establish homes and 
hospitals, wherever needed, to help all who deserve as- 
sistance, especially those of our own people, and thus 
save orphan children and aged Christians from the alms- 
house, and thrill the Restoration movement with the 
spirit of benevolence seen in the Lord and the early 
church. Orphans and other unfortunate children, under 
fourteen years, are eligible to the hom.es of the associa- 
tion. These are placed in Christian families as rapidly 
as possible. Old and indigent Christians of seventy years 
are received on recommendation of their congregations 
and upon the payment of $100. Husband and wife, 
$150. In the hospital the destitute sick receive free 
treatment. 

The work of the association is conducted through 
eleven affiliated institutions: Christian Orphans' Home, 
St. Louis, Mo. ; Christian Orphans' Home, Cleveland, 
O. ; Juliette Fowler Christian Home, Dallas, Tex. ; 
Southern Christian Home, Atlanta, Ga. ; Colorado Chris- 



ORGANIZATION 211 

tian Home, Denver, Col. ; Northwestern Christian Benev- 
lent Association, Portland, Ore.; Christian Old People's 
Home, Jacksonville, 111.; Havens Home for the Aged, 
East Aurora, N. Y. ; Northwestern Christian Home for 
the Aged, Walla Walla, Wash.; Sarah Harwood Home 
for the Aged, Dallas, Tex.; Valparaiso Christian Hos- 
pital, Valparaiso, Ind. 

The association has property valued at $363,000, and 
it carries annuities amounting to $160,000. It has aided 
two hundred aged, indigent Christians, one thousand wid- 
ows and placed four thousand orphan children in homes. 
All in all, it has aided not less than fifteen thousand 
people. Total money received, about $1,300,000. 

But its greatest enterprise is an immense national 
hospital at Kansas City, Mo., costing more than a million 
dollars, the work on which has already begun. A large 
part of its work is to be free to those unable to pay. 
This noble and Christlike enterprise is traceable to R. A. 
Long, a wealthy Christian gentleman, whose warm heart 
suggested it and w^hose liberal hand has made it possible. 

The Board of Church Extension was organized at 
the National Convention, Springfield, 111., in 1888, w4th 
headquarters at Kansas City, Mo. F. M. Rains was the 
first corresponding secretary. Its purpose is to help 
house homeless churches by lending them money at a 
low interest, to be returned in five annual installments. 
Many good business men doubted the wisdom of this 
policy, fearing that these weak mission churches would 
not be eager to return the money, since it belonged to 
the brotherhood. But the fact that, of the 1,502 
churches thus aided, nine hundred have paid their loans 
in full, and $1,259,241 has been paid back on loans, has 
dissipated all such fears. And the further fact that the 
Board, in handling about $2,500,000 in loans scattered 



212 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

through forty-four States and Territories and Canada, 
has only lost $1,038, which is about one-twentieth of one 
per cent., has demonstrated its business ability and se- 
cured for itself a warm place in the heart of the brother- 
hood. 

The Board of Ministerial Relief was organized at 
the National Convention, Dallas, Tex., in 1895, with 
headquarters at Indianapolis, Ind. The purpose is to 
care for aged, dependent preachers. The contributions 
have been altogether too small for so good a work, but 
they are increasing, and the outlook is bright. A. L. 
Orcutt is president of the Board. And recently W. R. 
Warren, a man eminently fitted for the field, has been 
added to the official force, which means a large success 
in the near future. Receipts for the last two years, 
over $40,000. 

The Brotherhood of the Disciples of Christ. At the 
Convention in New Orleans (1908) a committee of 
seven was appointed to organize the men of the church, 
for more efficient work in the Lord. In November the 
committee met in Kansas City and effected the organiza- 
tion by electing R. A. Long president and P. C. Mac- 
farlane, secretary. A beautiful emblem has been 
adopted. It consists of the star of Bethlehem and the 
cross of Golgotha, mounted upon a field of blood, with 
the letters "B'' and "D'' clinging to either arm of the 
cross, and the whole surrounded by the letter ''C," 
meaning the Christ. The colors upon the emblem are 
red, signifying life, and gold, signifying consecration, 
the whole signifying that the red-blooded men of the 
church are consecrating themselves to the service of their 
Elder Brother, the Lord Jesus Christ. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

Controversial. 

Publication Society — The Civil War — The Communion 

Question — The Organ — Federation — Biblical 

Criticism, 

Controversy among a people who think and act for 
themselves is unavoidable. (See Chap. XXII.) The 
Restoration movement is no exception to this law. Like 
the apostolic church, it has developed marked diversi- 
ties. "One is almost ready to conclude/' says J. S. 
Lamar, ''that the church of Christ, like the planets in the 
heavens, in order to move in its appointed orbit, must be 
subjected always to the simultaneous influence of two 
opposing forces.'' Extreme conservatism means stagna- 
tion and death, and extreme progressiveness means the 
desertion of fundamental principles, fatal compromises 
of truth, unholy alliances and death. Both reach the 
same end by different ways. As with the centripetal 
and centrifugal forces in nature, so with these extremes 
— neither must be overemphasized, but they must be 
blended in order to a reproduction of the faith and work 
of the primitive church. 

We mention a few of the great questions discussed 
by the fathers: 

CHRISTIAN PUBLICATION SOCIETY. 

It is not generally known that the question of a 
"brotherhood" publishing concern, now so familiar to 
all, was before our people in the early fifties, and was 
discussed by such men as Benjamin Franklin, J. T. 

213 



2U THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

Melish, W. K. Pendleton and Alexander Campbell. The 
first two named advocated it, and the last two opposed 
it. The plea for the enterprise was much the same as 
that used to-day. The opposition was fourfold: 

1. It tends to strife and alienation. '*We have seen," 
said Mr. Campbell, ''both among Baptists and pedo- 
baptists, what alienations and strifes have grown out 
of publication associations, . . . and which will, sooner 
or later, in every society, manifest roots of bitterness, 
strifes, contentions, emulations and alienations, alike dis- 
honorable to the Lord and to those who may occupy high 
places in the esteem of the friends and followers of the 
Lord Jesus.'' 

2. It was without authority from the churches. J. T. 
Melish, in the Christian Age, argued that we had a pub- 
lication society already established. Mr. Campbell 
denied this, and gave three reasons for his contention: 

*'(i) Because there were never any delegates elected 
by the churches and sent instructed by the church to get 
lip such an institution. 

"(2) Because the churches, in their individual capac- 
ities, or even a score of them, so far as I am informed, 
have not yet offered such a project. 

"(3) No annual meeting of a district of churches, at 
any given center — Lexington, Cincinnati or Richmond — 
could Scripturally originate, ordain or establish any such 
institution in the name or behalf of all the churches in 
a State, much less in the United States, unless elected, 
instructed and commissioned by the churches for that 
purpose.'' 

3. It tends to the secularization of the church. To 
quote Mr. Campbell again : 'T can not but fear any 
movement in the direction of secularizing the Christian 
institution. We cherish a supreme regard and venera- 



CONTROVERSIAL 215 

tion for the oracle, 'My kingdom is not of this world/ " 
^This is our most expensive, our least profitable, and our 
least defensible institution. It is as worldly and as secular 
as any other copartnery concern/' ''Alas for any cause, 
when every man gets up his own institution and seeks 
to control its movements, and calls it a Christian College, 
a Christian Publication Society,'' etc. 

4. It is out of harmony with the spirit of Christianity. 
W, K. Pendleton says: "I do not believe that such an 
establishment is in harmony with the high aims of the 
Reformation, reconcilable with the true genius of a 
spiritual religion, or favorable to the spread of the gos- 
pel.'' And Mr. Campbell says : "Jesus, in all his benevo- 
lence, nor his apostles after him, thought of any such 
secular schemes of philanthropy." 

These men were safeguarding the peace, purity and 
independence of the churches. 

After this discussion the matter rested in silence 
until recently, when it again becomes the subject of a 
vigorous investigation. 

THE CIVIL WAR. 

From 1861 to 1865 the Civil War, one of the most 
deadly conflicts in the annals of history, raged between 
the North and South. Party feeling ran high, and sec- 
tional prejudice, blind and bitter, threatened the destruc- 
tion of every vestige of friendship and fraternity be- 
tween those on opposite sides of Mason and Dixon's 
line. Old and strong churches were rent asunder, and 
the wound, in some cases, was so deep that even now, 
after a half century, it has not healed. Our people were 
about evenly divided, and it was predicted by many that 
this plea for union would fail to stand the test, and they, 
too, would divide, and thus show the folly of that plea. 

(8) 



216 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

But between the extremists on both sides was an anti- 
war party, which, aided by level-headed men both North 
and South, prevented the rupture. Mr. Campbell during 
the Mexican War, in a great address, had lent his in- 
fluence to this third party. 

Isaac Errett rendered the cause an invaluable service 
at this time. As early as 1858 the trouble over slavery 
was serious, both in political and religious circles. He 
saw the danger, and threw himself in the breach in an 
effort to prevent division. For a time it looked as if he 
would fail. Hot-headed extremists in both wings would 
block his way. In spite of all he could do, an anti- 
slavery missionary society was organized. But, though 
an anti-slavery man himself, he threw his influence 
against it. And, in time, his clear head, warm heart and 
powerful appeals prevailed, and unity was preserved; 
and so, in the language of another, it is probably true 
that *'Isaac Errett did more than any other man to keep 
the good ship of Zion from stranding and going to 
pieces." 

THE COMMUNION QUESTION. 

With the year 1862 came the communion controversy 
involving our relation to the pious unimmersed at the 
Lord's Supper. The question had been discussed in the 
Harbinger as early as 1837, but it was not general. The 
point at issue was whether immersionists could be 
loyal to their position on baptism and permit affusionists 
to sit with them at the Lord's table. 

The Harbinger^ the American Christian Review and 
Lard's Quarterly were full of the controversy. Benja- 
min Franklin, editor of the Review, and G. W. Elley 
were leaders on one side, and were opposed by Isaac 
Errett, W. K. Pendleton and Robert Richardson. The 
discussion was in good spirit, and with ability, and the 



CONTROVERSIAL 217 

result was good. The masses were enlightened, and they 
became intelligent and discriminative on a delicate, im- 
portant and ever-present question. 

A single quotation from each side will suffice for a 
correct view of the discussion. Mr. Franklin, in an edi- 
torial, said: 

"There are individuals among the sects who are not 
sectarians, or who are more — they are Christians, who 
have believed the gospel, submitted to it, and, in spite 
of the leaders, been constituted Christians according to 
the Scriptures. That these individuals have a right to 
commune there can be no doubt. But this is not com- 
munion with the sects. 

''What is the use of parleying over the question of 
communion with unimmersed persons? Did the first 
Christians commune with unimmersed persons? It is 
admitted that they did not. Shall we, then, deliberately 
do what we admit they did not do? 

''When an unimmersed person communes without any 
inviting or excluding, that is his own act, not ours, and 
we are not responsible for it. We do not see that any 
harm is done to him or us, and we need make no ex- 
clusive remarks to keep him away, and we certainly have 
no authority for inviting him to come. 

"We have nothing to do with any open communion 
or close communion. The communion is for the Lord's 
people, and nobody else. . . . We take no responsibility 
in the matter, for we neither invite nor exclude.'' 

Mr. Errett, then on the editorial staff of the Har- 
binger, held that there had always been a people of God 
in Babylon, and said: 

"We incline to the opinion that most of them were 
unimmersed. They were, in many respects, an erring 
people — in regard to baptism they certainly were in great 



218 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

error; but they 'feared God and wrought rightousness.' 
... At one and another trumpet call of reformation, 
multitudes came forth from Babylon. They did not 
reach Jerusalem. But they wrought great deeds for 
God and his word. We inherit the blessed fruit of their 
labors. We follow them through the scenes of their 
superhuman toil, to the dungeons where they suffered, 
and to the stakes where they won the glories of ixiartyr- 
dom, and whence they ascended in chariots of fire to the 
heavens; and as we embrace the chains they wore, and 
take up the ashes from the altar-fires of spiritual free- 
dom, we ask not whether these lofty heroes of the church 
militant, to whom we owe our heritage of spiritual free- 
dom, may commune with us; but, rather, if we are at all 
worthy to commune with them ! We feel honored in 
being permitted to call them brethren. Our reformation 
movement is the legitimate offspring of theirs. Neither in 
Pennsylvania, where the Campbells and Scott began, nor 
in Kentucky, where Stone and others led the van of 
reformation, did this movement spring from Baptist, 
but from pedobaptist, influences. It is the legitimate 
result of pedobaptist learning, piety and devotion. Un- 
less we can recognize a people of God among these 
heroical, struggling, sacrificing hosts of Protestants, 
from whom we have sprung, then the promise of Christ 
in regard to his church has failed; since, if we insist on 
the rigid test of the letter of gospel conditions, no such 
people as the disciples can be found for many centuries. 
But of this people of God we affirm that they loved the 
Lord in sincerity. They possessed his Spirit — manifest- 
ing it in precious fruits of righteousness and holiness. 
The spirit of obedience dwelt not less in them than in 
us. They erred in regard to the letter of baptism, even 
as it may be that we have erred in regard to the letter 



CONTROVERSIAL 219 

of other requirements. We felt the need of further 
reformation. We have seen the mischievous and wicked 
tendencies of the sect spirit. We have eschewed it. We 
invite all who love the Saviour to a Scriptural basis of 
union. We do not, meanwhile, refuse their prayers, 
their songs, their exhortations. Whilst we can not en- 
dorse their position nor their practice, as lacking immer- 
sion, and as practicing infant rantism, but lift up a loud 
and constant voice against it, we must deal with them 
as Christians in error, and seek to right them. To ignore 
their faith and obedience, and to deal with them as 
heathen men and publicans, will be indeed to 'weaken 
the hands' of the pleaders for reformation, and expose 
ourselves, by a judgment of extreme narrowness and 
harshness, to the pity, if not the scorn, of good men 
everywhere." 

Gradually the brethren settled down to the conclusion 
that the position of Mr. Campbell, and the general prac- 
tice among them, was correct; that the Lord's table was 
for the Lord's people, and we should spread it before all, 
and leave every man to examine himself, and eat, or 
refrain from eating, upon his own responsibility. This 
decision was not unanimous, but it was general, and it so 
remains unto the present. 

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC IN THE CHURCHES. 

The organ question, which reached its zenith about 
1870, was far more serious than the communion ques- 
tion. It excited the most intense feeling. Good men on 
both sides were wrought up to the highest tension. Some 
who opposed the organ declared that they would not 
preach for a church where the instrument was used. 
Others proclaimed that they would not compromise with 
the corruption, nor tolerate the corrupters. From the 



220 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

Other side the response came back that such tyranny was 
intolerable, and, rather than submit to it, they wouW 
advise division. It was truly a perilous time, for the 
spirit of division was rife in both sides. This feeling 
was intensified by the fact that most of those who op- 
posed the organ also opposed missionary societies. 

The leading men in the discussion were Moses E. 
Lard, Benjamin Franklin, John W. McGarvey, A. S. 
Hayden and Isaac Errett; and the principal periodicals 
were the Harbinger, the Review, Lard's Quarterly and 
the Apostolic Times. With such men as these to conduct 
it, the discussion was necessarily strong. For the most 
part they wrote temperately, but the feeling was intense 
and the convictions were deep and profound. 

The opposition argued that it was unscriptural, and 
hence they could not be loyal to the Lord and use it in 
worship. They further contended that since those who 
favored it could have no conscience in the matter, they 
ought, according to the law of love, to yield their prefer- 
ences, and not wound their brethren. 

Their opponents replied that, even though there was 
no specific precept or example favoring the instrument, 
it was not contrary to the spirit of the Scriptures. And 
many of them believed that the Book, fairly interpreted, 
sanctioned its use. They also contended that they had a 
conscience involved, and they must respect it. They 
claimed that, as an expedient, it was not only within the 
scope of Bible teaching, but, because of modern condi- 
tions, it was essential to the largest usefulness of the 
church. They disavowed the charge of corrupting the 
worship by claiming that the organ was no more a part 
of the worship than the hymn-book and tuning-fork. 
Isaac Errett said : 

'The New Testament furnishes no standard of music. 



CONTROVERSIAL 221 

the melody of the heart being made emphatic. But the 
requirement to sing impHes whatever is necessary to the 
performance of it. Hence we have hymn-books, tune- 
books, tuning-forks, choirs, etc., not because they are 
commanded, but because we are commanded to sing, 
and these are necessary to enable us to sing to edifica- 
tion. . , , It is a difference of opinion as to the means 
necessary to obey the precept to sing, . . . and no man 
has a right to make it, on either side, a test of fellow- 
ship, or an occasion of stumbling/' 

The rupture at this point is the most serious matter 
yet encountered in the plea for Christian union. It 
shows our inability to fully illustrate this glorious plea. 
But this is not the fault of the plea, but a proof of the 
frailty of human nature. Those who stand aloof from 
the great body of the brethren because of their opposi- 
tion to instrumental music and missionary societies, do 
so because of a failure to fully appreciate one of the 
fundamental features of the Restoration movement; 
viz. : unity in matters of faith, and liberty in matters of 
opinion. This does not prove that the plea is false, or 
even faulty; it only proves that we have not been able 
yet to reach our lofty ideal. The same is true of Chris- 
tianity itself — the theory is perfect, but our lives are im- 
perfect. 

We are sad over this situation, but not discouraged, 
for the Father, who helped the early church when it 
was divided, and who has helped us to overcome great 
difficulties, will not fail us, for his people must be one. 

FEDERATION. 

Any reasonable eflfort to break down division and 
increase unity among God's children should be encour- 
aged. Mr. Campbell, speaking of the Evangelical Alii- 



222 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

ance, said: "I thank God and take courage at every 
effort, however imperfect, to open the eyes of the com- 
munity to the impotency and wickedness of schism, and 
to impress upon the conscientious and benevolent portion 
of the Christian profession the excellency, the beauty 
and necessity of co-operation in the cause of Christ as 
prerequisite to the diffusion of Christianity throughout 
the nations of the earth." And this has been the feeling 
of the people; but they have been careful not to com- 
promise principle in order to co-operation. And where 
many understand that the federation, now so popular 
in religious circles, might hinder our entrance through 
any open door, they refused to federate. This pre- 
cipitated a lively discussion, involving the definition, 
purpose and plan of the work, which has tended to clear 
the atmosphere and re-emphasize the position of the 
fathers that we will gladly co-operate with all good peo- 
ple in any good work which does not require the sacrifice 
of the truth and liberty of the gospel. 

BIBLICAL CRITICISM. 

To a people whose slogan is ''Where the Bible speaks, 
we speak; and where the Bible is silent, we are silent," 
it was natural that they would be cautious about any- 
thing that looked like a disparagement of the Book. The 
very word "criticism," as applied to the Scriptures, had 
an offensive flavor to some. They understood it to 
mean faultfinding, and they resented it. It was also 
true that much of this criticism was destructive. Its 
authors may have been good men as moralists, but they 
were not Christians according to the Bible standard. 
Their work was justly rejected as the work of unbe- 
lievers. 

But there is a Biblical criticism, sane and safe, which 



CONTROVERSIAL 



223 



they welcomed. Alexander Campbell was such a critic 
when he published the ^'Living Oracles/' a new trans- 
lation of the New Testament. Every scholar who can 
throw new light on the old Book is its friend; and it is 
natural to suppose that, in a progressive age like ours, 
scholarship will do this. But that critic, rationalistic 
and destructive, who begins his work by assuming that 
miracles are not historical, but superstitions, and thus, 
with one fell blow, robs us of the miraculous birth, the 
marvelous works and the resurrection of our Lord, is an 
enemy, and we must fight him. Pray, what would be left 
of the Book and its Christ if the miraculous is removed ? 
We would have a shell, but no kernel; a temple without 
a tenant. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

Errett and McGarvey. 

Errett: Early Life — Conversion — Finding Himself — A 

Good Man — A Courageous Man — An Ideal Leader. 

McGarvey: Early Life — In Bethany College — 

Honor Student — Courageous — Bible Critic 

— Strong Preacher — Writer — Teacher, 

We have mentioned a few of the great leaders in the 
early history of the Restoration movement, and now we 
note a few of their successors. No story can be well 
told except as it is woven about a personality. In this 
list we find a large number of splendid characters who 
deserve special attention, and we would gladly give it 
to them if our book was larger. A few of these men 
are: Benjamin Franklin, W. K. Pendleton, J. S. Lamar, 
Moses E. Lard, Robert Milligan, O. A. Burgess, Alex- 
ander Procter, B. W. Johnson, B. F. Coulter, L. B. 
Wilkes, R. M. Bishop, F. M. Drake, James A. Garfield, 
Jeremiah S. Black, J. M. Mathes, C. L. Loos, F. D. 
Power, Timothy Coop, Tolbert Fanning, H. W. Everest, 
Thomas Munnell, T. W. Phillips, etc. The many omis- 
sions from this list which will occur to the reader are 
to be accounted for, not for want of appreciation, but 
for lack of space. However, there are two men who 
must receive more than this passing notice — Isaac Errett 
and J. W. McGarvey. 

ISAAC ERRETT. 

Mr. Errett, by common consent, stands in the front 
rank as a preacher and writer of the Restoration move- 

224 





Benjamin Franklin. 



J. S. Lamar. 





Isaac Errett. 



Pres. J. A. Garfield. 



ERRETT AND McGARVEY 225 

ment. He reached this position early, and maintained it 
throughout a long and brilliant life. By many he is re- 
garded as the Joshua who took up the work of Alex- 
ander Campbell, our Moses; or the Elisha, upon whose 
shoulders the mantle of our Elijah fell. They think that, 
like Esther, he came to the throne for a special work, 
and, like that beautiful and brave queen, he did it nobly 
and well. 

Henry Errett, his father, was an Irishman, and his 
mother was an Englishwoman. They came to New York 
about the time the Campbells began their work in Penn- 
sylvania, and were among the firstfruits of the work 
in the great metropolis, the father being an elder in the 
first church of that city. Isaac was born Jan. 2, 1820. 
The father died five years later, leaving the training of 
the son to the mother. In his twelfth year he became a 
Christian, and when he did so, like Andrew, he sought 
his older brother, Russell, and the two w^ere baptized 
together by Robert McLaren, an elder of the church in 
Pittsburgh, where the family was then living. 

His educational advantages were poor, but, being 
bright and ambitious, he made the best of them. He 
became a printer, and before he was seventeen years old 
was tendered the position of editor of the paper on which 
he was working. But he declined the honor, and be- 
came a teacher. Neither did this suit him; and so, in 
1840, he became a preacher, beginning in his twentieth 
year. He soon attained distinction, and was called to 
places of honor and responsibility by his brethren. He 
preached for the churches at Pittsburgh, Pa.; North 
Bloomfield, Warren and New Lisbon, O., and at Mulr, 
Ionia and Detroit, Mich. He was corresponding secre- 
tary, first for Ohio, and afterwards for the American 
Christian Missionary Society. In 1873 ^^ urged the be- 



226 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

ginning of work in the foreign field, but the brethren 
were slow to act, and, while they were waiting, he turned 
to the women, and helped them to launch their great 
work in 1874. The men, stimulated by this example, 
organized the Foreign Christian Missionary Society one 
year later, with Isaac Errett as president, which position 
he held until his death. 

But Mr. Errett never found the special work for 
which the Lord raised him up until 1865, when he be- 
came editor of the Christian Standard. As an eagle 
among the clouds, he was now in his proper atmosphere. 
The editorial chair, rather than the pulpit, was his 
throne. Though a great preacher, it was as a writer that 
he exerted his widest influence. Horace Greeley was not 
more naturally an editor than was Isaac Errett. Grafton 
says he '^possessed an innate genius for editorship, a sixth 
sense, by which he discerned the people's needs.'' Alex- 
ander Campbell had necessarily given his life and en- 
ergies to truth as truth, and Isaac Errett was needed to 
give his to this truth in its relation to human needs. 
The one had rediscovered a mine of rarest wealth, and 
the other was to develop this mine for the good of man. 
Let us now emphasize three of the leading elements of 
his character by which he was fitted for this work : 

I. He was a good man. Like Barnabas, he was "a 
good man, and full of the Holy Spirit," and, like Enoch, 
he "walked with God." Jesus Christ was supreme in his 
life, and he strove day by day to be a loyal and loving 
subject. The heroes who stood with the Campbells in 
the early days were men of deep personal piety, and so 
were most of those of the later days, but not all. A few 
were so absorbed in the intellectual side of the plea that 
they failed to come in close touch with its spiritual 
significance. To all such, Mr. Errett's life was both a 



ERRETT AND McGARVEY 227 

rebuke and an example. "He was great in his goodness, 
and good in his greatness/' 

2. He was a man of courage. When he began his 
leadership, extreme conservatism and extreme radical- 
ism, like two robbers, crouched on either side of his 
pathway and threatened his progress, and he was always 
under the fire of one or the other, and often under both. 
But, like a kite struggling with a contrary wind, he rose 
higher and soared more grandly because of opposition. 
But, besides these enemies from within, he had to meet 
those from without. After the death of Mr. Campbell, 
many of these prophesied that his work would speedily 
fail, and they bent their every energy to bring to pass 
the fulfillment of the prophecy. While the battle was 
on, he was always in the forefront, but when it was over, 
and the victory won, he was ever ready to treat with 
clemency his former foes. 

3. He was an ideal leader. Leaders, like poets, are 
born, not made. When Mr. Errett came into prominence, 
and went to the wheel, the sea was stormy, and there 
were dangers on every hand. But with a clear vision and 
steady nerve, and with the spirit of a true pilot, he 
guided the ship safely to port. In this work he reminds 
one of Paul as he rescued the infant church from the 
Judaizing teachers and blind bigots of the first century. 
His special mission was to maintain the integrity of the 
plea of the Campbells, and hold the Restoration move- 
ment to its original purpose, and for a quarter of a cen- 
tury he did it most nobly. 

In the controversies over the music question, the com- 
munion question and the question of slavery, as already 
seen, he has shown himself a masterful leader and sane 
counselor. 

This is seen again on the union question. Let it not 



228 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

be forgotten that his was not the work of construction, 
but of interpretation. Mr. Campbell had done the 
former, and he was to do the latter. He was to see the 
plea in its entirety: not only in form, but in spirit; not 
only as a theory, but as a practice. The plea for union 
w^as not the union of the Bible, but a pseudo union, 
which w^ould not disturb denominationalism. It was 
seen in the union revivals, where it was regarded sec- 
tarian to give in the language of the apostles their an- 
swer to inquiring sinners seeking the way of the Lord. 
The voice of the Bible was to be suppressed w^henever 
that voice clashed with the popular views of Christen- 
dom. Mr. Errett kindly, but firmly, replied: "Be as 
liberal as you please with what is your own, but be care- 
ful how you give away what is not yours, but God's. 
There is nothing that is merely human which we ought 
not to surrender, if need be, for the sake of union, but 
we can not yield God's commands.'' 

The same pressure was brought to bear from another 
angle. Some of his own brethren urged that he was 
narrow, exclusive and uncharitable, and thus hindering 
the plea. They intimated that the baptismal question 
should be ignored, and the pious unimmersed should be 
received into full fellowship. His answer was: 

"We are responsible for the way wx deal with God's 
truth, but not for the results of faithfulness to our con- 
victions. But we wish to say, with all emphasis, that 
we believe this to be a mistake. At the beginning of the 
plea of the Campbells for union it was unembarrassed 
by any of this so-called exclusiveness. They were Pres- 
byterians. They sought the union of professed Chris- 
tians without regard to immersion, and without the re- 
jection of infant baptism. Their effort was a signal 
failure. The dear, pious people, who v/ere so eulogized 



ERRETT AND McGARVEY 229 

for superior spiritual worth, and pronounced to be so 
loyal in heart and purpose, turned a deaf ear to the plea 
for union. . . . But after the champions of this move- 
ment were led to surrender infant membership and affu- 
sion, and planted themselves on the ground we now oc- 
cupy, their plea began at once to assert great power, 
and within fifty years has met with a success that has 
hardly a parallel in religious movements. We have no 
reason, even on the ground of expediency, to change our 
ground. We therefore say to our brethren, in view of 
every consideration of truth, consistency, charity and ex- 
pediency, stand firm; diminish not a word. As the 
grounds of difference are narrowed there will be strong 
efforts, under the plea of charity, to bring about a sur- 
render of gospel teaching concerning baptism. Pedo- 
baptists are bent on forcing this issue. In vain v/e tell 
them that they can easily, without a surrender of con- 
science, agree to that which they and we alike accept as 
valid baptism. This is scouted by them. They are bent 
on classifying baptism with things indifferent. 

"We will yield to the prejudices and preferences of 
any and all, and sacrifice all cherished habits, tastes and 
expediences. But, in regard to the faith and practice 
revealed in the Nev/ Testament, we must be sternly un- 
compromising. If the battle must come on this question 
of baptism, there we shall stand on apostolic ground, 
and repeat, day and night, without ceasing, 'One Lord, 
one faith, one baptism.' '' 

Thus, for tw^enty-five years of the most critical his- 
tory of the Restoration movement, Mr. Errett held it to 
the open sea, and we are largely indebted to him for the 
gratifying fact that the ship did not founder upon the 
reefs of unscriptural practices and human dogmas. 

Mr. Errett died Dec. 19, 1888, in his sixty-ninth year. 



230 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

JOHN WILLIAM m'gARVEY. 

No man among us stood higher and was more gen- 
erally trusted than J. W. McGarvey. He was born in 
Hopkinsville, Ky., March i, 1829, and died in Lexington, 
Ky., Oct. 6, 191 1, in his seventy-ninth year. His father 
was an Irishman, and came to America when a young 
man. His mother, a Miss Thompson, of old Virginia 
stock, was born and reared near Georgetown, Ky. 

In 1839 the family moved to Tremont, 111., where the 
foundation of his education was well laid in a local 
academy. In April, 1847, he entered the Freshman class 
of Bethany College, and in July, 1850, graduated as 
one of the honor men, delivering the Greek oration and 
receiving special tokens of appreciation of scholarship 
from the Faculty. In 1848 he gave his heart to God, 
and was baptized by Professor Pendleton, and at once 
determined to devote his life to the ministry of the 
Word. 

The family having removed to Fayette, Mo., he went 
from Bethany to that place, where he taught a school 
for boys one year. At a call of the Fayette Church, he 
gave up the school, and in September, 185 1, was ordained 
as a preacher. In 1853 he accepted the work at Dover, 
Mo., where he remained nine years, spending much of 
his time in extensive tours over the State. He also had 
five public debates during this time. 

In 1862 he took up the work in Lexington, Ky. 
During this year he published his ^'Commentary on 
Acts,'' a work of great merit. In 1865 he was elected 
professor of sacred history in the College of the Bible 
at Lexington. After thirty years' service he was made 
president of the college, which position he held to the 
day of his death. 



ERRETT AND McGARVEY 231 

We have space for mention of only a few of the ele- 
ments of this strong character : 

1. He was a man of courage. He was a man of con- 
victions, and ever ready to enter the lists against all who 
would assail what he believed to be true. Had he been 
born a thousand years earlier, he likely v/ould have 
been in the vanguard of those who, under Syrian suns, 
were struggling to rescue the sacred trophies of the cross 
from the hands of infidels. Or, if he had lived in the 
first century, he would likely have stood arm in arm and 
heart to heart with Peter and Paul in the earlier battles 
of the faith. Paul's description of the Christian soldier 
(Eph. 6:11-19) was never more faithfully illustrated 
than in himself, in Martin Luther and in Pres. J. W. 
McGarvey. His courage was not that of the coarse 
bully, as some have thought, but it was the courage of 
a calm and conscientious hero, in perfect equipoise, re- 
sponding to the stern call of battle. "If I were floating 
on a plank in midocean,'' he said, "and a man should try 
to take it from me, I would fight for my life." 

2. He was an eminent Bible critic. He stood like a 
mighty Gibraltar against the waves of destructive crit- 
icism, and saved the Book from their furious onslaughts. 
But for the work of this sturdy man, whom no consid- 
erations could swerve a hair's-breadth, what might have 
been our condition to-day? He waded through masses 
of intricate study, and familiarized himself with every 
phase of German philosophy, that he might know both 
sides of the question. During this investigation, em- 
bracing the period between his sixtieth and seventy-fifth 
years, when many feel that it is time to sheathe the sword 
and turn over the fight to others, he would often come 
from his study, stretch his arms, take a deep breath, and 
exclaim : "I feel as though I had been in a struggle with 



232 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

a mighty giant!" And the time is not distant when the 
entire reHgious world will honor him as the leading de- 
fender of the faith. From 1893 ^^ 1911 he conducted a 
department in the Christian Standard — '^Biblical Crit- 
icism'' — which has been of great value. 

3. He was a strong preacher. Who that ever heard 
him will ever forget his sermons? After spending the 
week in his classroom one would think his students 
would want to hear some one else on the Lord's Day; 
but not so. In the large dining-room, where most of the 
young preachers boarded, this question came up every 
Sunday morning: ''Where are you going to church to- 
day?" And the answer usually was: ''If I knew Lard 
would be on his high horse [Moses E. Lard was preach- 
ing at Main Street and McGarvey at Broadway], I would 
go to Main Street; but, as there is doubt about this, I 
will go to Broadway, for 'Little Mac' never disappoints 
us." When Lard was at himself, he was a powerful 
preacher; but, like all men of moods, he was not always 
"at himself" ; but McGarvey, while he often preached 
great sermons, never fell below a lofty level. His ser- 
mons were not ornate, but they were lucid unfoldings of 
the Book. They flooded man's way with light and in- 
spired him to walk in it. His language was simple 
enough for a primer, and his sentences were condensed 
like telegrams. He was easy to hear and hard to 
forget. 

4. He was a forceful zvriter. He was concise and 
clear. He said what he meant, and meant what he said. 
One might not agree with him, but he never misunder- 
stood him. He often used a sharp pen, and woe to the 
antagonist who got in his way when that antagonist 
was wrong. He wrote voluminously, and was always 
read. His books are standards as expositions of the 



ERRETT AND McGARVEY 233 

Scriptures, and as a defense of the Book against infidel 
criticism. 

5. But he was pre-eminently a Bible teacher. Here 
he did his greatest work. The classroom was his throne, 
and never did a king reign more naturally, more royally 
and more profitably than did he. He knew what he 
taught, and taught what he knew. There was nothing 
lazy about him. He never left the student dangling 
in the air and wondering what he meant. He placed his 
was sure. When called to meet his Master he could 
safely say: 'T never weakened the faith of any young 
man entrusted to me ; I never poisoned a single soul with 
doubt; my work as a teacher has been constructive, not 
destructive." 

His knowledge of the Bible was wonderful. As one 
of the many students who sat at his feet, this writer can 
say that he never heard him read a lesson in the class- 
room., either from the Old Testament or the New; he 
always recited the Scriptures. He seemed to know them 
"by heart.'' When he visited the Holy Land, he kept 
ahead of his guide, and often knew locations better than 
he. As a Bible student, both in general and detailed 
knowledge, perhaps he has had no peer since the days 
of inspiration. The London Times said: "In all prob- 
ability, John W. McGarvey is the ripest Bible scholar on 
earth." 

And, now, behold the result: His students, numbered 
by the thousands, famous for their loyalty to the Lord 
and usefulness in his kingdom, are found in every land, 
telling the "old, old story"; and though their teacher 
rests from his labors, his works do follow him. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

Independent Missions. 

England — Canada — Australia — Yotsuya Mission — 
Australian Missions — Hors-de-Rome Mission, 

Every New Testament church was absolutely inde- 
pendent of every other church, as much so as the dif- 
ferent families of a community. They acted separately 
or in concert, as they thought best. And this must con- 
tinue as our practice, if we would reproduce the church 
of that day. There must be no exclusive agencies. If 
one chooses to work through a missionary society, let 
him do it; but if he chooses to work through his own 
congregation, or as an individual, he must not be mo- 
lested. Our societies are to stand or fall, not by official 
authority of a convention, but by merit. We should 
not disparage the work of either, but encourage both, 
so long as they result in the salvation of men. Having 
in a previous chapter (XXIV.) spoken of the leading 
societies, we now call attention to some of the independ- 
ent missions. 

ENGLAND. 

Let it not be forgotten that the thought of Christian 
union was conceived in the heart of Thomas Campbell 
while he was in the Old World, though it was born in 
America. Let it also be remembered that it was in the 
Old World that his great son, Alexander, first saw the 
evil of denominationalism, and broke with it; and it 
was there he promised God that if He would save him 
from the shipwreck, he would give his life to the ministry 

234 



INDEPENDENT MISSIONS 235 

of the Word. Remembering this, as we look upon the 
greater growth of their work in the New World, we 
will not forget that it had its rootage in the Old. It will 
also deepen our interest in the progress of their plea in 
that land. 

The leaven brought by these men to America, and 
which has wrought so mightily here, has not been latent 
there. In May, 1809, there was a church of Christ in 
Chester, Coxlane, North Wales. This old congregation 
— older than Brush Run — has celebrated its one hun- 
dredth anniversary. And during the first quarter of the 
last century churches were organized in Bristol, Shrews- 
bury, Wrexham and London, and in other places in the 
north. But these churches seemed ignorant of each 
other, and of similar churches in America, until 1833. 
It was in this year that a young student from America — 
Peyton C. Wyeth — worshiped one Sunday morning with 
a Baptist church near Finsbury Pavement, London. He 
had heard Alexander Campbell, and had accepted his 
teachings, and he was letting his light shine wherever he 
went — even in the metropolis of the world. After the 
service he spoke to William Jones, one of the officers of 
the church, and a religious author of ability, and told 
him of the Campbells and their wonderful work across 
the Atlantic. Mr. Jones was so impressed by the story 
of the young enthusiast that he wrote Mr. Campbell. 
Soon after this he started the British Millennial Harbin- 
ger, hoping through its influence to swing the Scottish 
Baptist churches of England into the Restoration move- 
ment. Of course, such a move would create dissension, 
and when the editor saw it, he gave it up, rather than 
become a disturbing element among his brethren. 

But the young student's work was not in vain. Other 
churches, struggling for the reproduction of prim.itive 



236 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

Christianity, heard the good news, got in touch with each 
other, and in 1842, forty-two of them, representing 
thirteen hundred members, came together in their first 
general meeting at Edinburgh. In 1847 ^hey had a sec- 
ond meeting at Chester, which was presided over by 
Alexander Campbell, who was present at the urgent in- 
vitation of the English brethren. This m.eeting repre- 
sented eighty churches, with twenty-three hundred mem- 
bers. 

In 1845 Timothy Coop, of Southport, was converted. 
He brought into the church wealth, consecration and 
aggressiveness. He visited America, and imbibed the 
spirit of enterprise characteristic of the American church, 
and he sought to transfer it to England. He proposed 
to the Foreign Christian Missionary Society to give $5,000 
for every $10,000 they would devote to the evangelization 
of England. The proposition was accepted, and evangel- 
ists were sent across the sea. The message of these men 
was familiar and acceptable, but the methods were so new 
and strange that dissensions followed. Many did not 
take kindly to what was then a new evangelism; neither 
did they like to appear as though they needed financial 
aid from others ; but least of all were they willing to be 
classed among those in need of missionaries from a so- 
ciety whose special work was the evangelization of the 
heathen. Had the work been on the basis of co-opera- 
tion with the English brethren, and not independently of 
them, results w^ould probably have been different. But, 
as it was, in 1880 the churches favoring American meth- 
ods formed an organization called the ''Christian Asso- 
ciation." 

This new organization has not met the hopes of its 
friends. It has now, after about thirty years, only 
twenty churches, with about two thousand members. 



INDEPENDENT MISSIONS 237 

The other brethren have succeeded better, and now have 
190 churches, with a membership of about fifteen thou- 
sand. But the difficuhies here are great. It is an old 
country, with the reHgious habits of the people fixed 
and firm; the Established Church is there, entrenched 
behind the law and rich in money and social influence; 
and the brethren have no college in w^hich to train their 
preachers. But if these people could be brought to- 
gether in harmonious co-operation, all difificulties would 
vanish, and God would crown their labors with a great 
victory. We have the right to differ, but not to divide, 
except on fundamentals. 

CANADA. 

Canada is the land of opportunity. Sir Wilfrid 
Laurier says : "The nineteenth century belongs to the 
United States; the twentieth century will belong to 
Canada." Doubtless Canada will witness wonderful 
progress in the next hundred years, but the same will 
be true of the United States. They are sister govern- 
ments, living side by side, with only the forty-ninth par- 
allel north latitude, unfortified, and an imaginary line 
midw^ay in the lakes and rivers between them. But such 
lines count for nothing in Christianity. Christ was a 
Jew, but he was not Jewish; and his religion, born in 
little Palestine, is for the world. 

Canada is a large country — four hundred thousand 
square miles larger than the United States — and it forms 
about one-third of the British Empire, and is only a 
little less in size than the continent of Europe. Omit- 
ting the northern section, which is hardly habitable, it is 
still equal in territory with its southern sister. The 
soil is rich, the mineral wealth is great and the climate 
is invigorating, conducive to the production of a hardy. 



238 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

energetic and thinking people. The population is novv 
more than eight million, and is increasing rapidly. 

The first traces of the Restoration principles were 
seen at River John, N. S., about 1815, in the old Scotch 
Baptist order. The work in Prince Edward Island was a 
development from this order. Benjamin Howard, an 
evangelist from the United States, preached in this 
region fully seventy-five years ago. His was the work 
of promiscuous seed-sowing, for no churches were or- 
ganized till 1840. D. Crawford, G. Garrity, W. Hughes 
and H. Greenlow were also worthy pioneers in that 
country. 

Canada now has one hundred churches, ten thou- 
sand members, ninety ministers, and church property 
worth $250,000. Her expenditures annually are about 
$50,000 for local work, $7,000 for Home Missions, 
$4,000 for Foreign Missions and $3,000 from the wo- 
men. These figures are proof of a consecrated band of 
Christians, awake alike to the wants of the w^orld at 
home and abroad. The first grave dug in the foreign 
field was for a daughter of Nova Scotia; and it was a 
daughter of Ontario, with great sacrifice, who first 
knocked at the door of Tibet. Besides these, Canada has 
sent many others to the heathen world, and given to 
the United States a large number of her most useful 
men. But, like England, her chief need is a school in 
which to train her sons and daughters for the fruitful 
field crying for more laborers. 

AUSTRALIA. 

Australia, the island continent, and the largest of 
the islands, has a coast line of ten thousand miles, and 
is two-thirds as large as the United States. The popula- 
tion is near the five-million mark, and is growing at a 



INDEPENDENT MISSIONS 23^ 

rapid rate. The soil is among the best in the world, 
and the mineral wealth is wonderful. The output of 
her mines increased from $40,000,000 in 1871 to $I20,« 
000,000 in 1905. Her imports in 1908 reached the hand- 
some sum of $500,000,000, and her exports, $610,000,- 
000. 

The seed of the primitive gospel came to this great 
Southland from the British churches. This was as it 
should be, for Great Britain is the mother of Australia. 
Sturdy men from the home land came there, and at 
once unfurled the Lord's banner, established the Lord's 
table in their homes, and began to tell their neighbors 
of his love and his power to save. For years they had 
no preachers giving their entire time to the ministry of 
the Word, but all of them preached all the time, as they 
mingled with men in the business and social world (see 
Acts 8:4), and the Lord saw to it that his word did not 
return to him void (Isa. 55 : 11). 

While the work thus had its origin from Great 
Britain, it received a wonderful impetus from American 
importations. From the British churches they received 
the good seed of the kingdom, and were rooted and 
grounded in loyalty to the Lord. But from America 
came royal spirits, among them Earl, Surber, Gore, 
Geeslin, Carr, Haley, Maston, and others, who brought 
with them the American spirit of co-operation and evan- 
gelism, and the combination proved a rich blessing to 
the cause. In Adelaide, where work began in the late 
forties, there are ten churches, three missions and about 
four thousand members; in Sydney, where it began in 
185 1, there are fourteen churches, with about three 
thousand members; and in Melbourne, where it began 
in 1853, there are thirty-five churches and more than 
five thousand members. The work has more than dou- 



240 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

bled in the last eighteen years, and there are now on 
the island about thirty thousand members. 

Australia has taken two important steps looking to 
the prosperity and permanency of the work : established 
a paper and a college. The Australian Christian was 
established by the late A. B. Maston, and it is doing 
good service. And the Australasian Bible College in 
Melbourne has about fifty young men preparing to preach 
the gospel. This is a hopeful beginning. 

YOTSUYA MISSION. 

Soon after his graduation from Bethany College, in 
1894, W. D. Cunningham was asked by the Foreign 
Society to become one of their missionaries. In 1898 
he and his wife were appointed to go to Japan. Two 
days after starting for the field Mr. Cunningham was 
taken ill. And after his recovery the Board decided 
that he would not be able to do the work, and did not 
reappoint him. But they would not be dissuaded. They 
felt that God had called them, and they would go, 
trusting him for all things needed. On Oct. i, 1901. 
they reached Tokyo. Mr. Cunningham secured the posi- 
tion of English teacher in a school, and thus provided 
for living expenses. He soon organized Bible classes, 
distributed Christian literature, and began to preach on 
the streets. Just one month after his arrival he began 
the publication of the Tokyo Christian, a monthly, and 
it has become a permanent feature of his work. 

The Lord has never disappointed those who trust in 
him. In 1902 Miss Alice Miller asked Mr. Cunningham 
to take charge of the evangelistic work which she was 
conducting successfully in Yotsuya. The invitation was 
accepted, and plans were at once adopted for needed 
buildings. Friends in America came to the rescue, and 



INDEPENDENT MISSIONS 241 

the buildings were erected. Three missions have been 
estabhshed, and three evangehsts employed, and more 
than two hundred have been baptized into the Christ. 

AUSTRALIAN MISSIONS. 

The New Zealand churches support three white mis- 
sionaries at Bulawayo, South Africa. The Australian 
churches support as living links through the Foreign 
Christian Missionary Society one missionary each in 
China, Japan and India. Two other stations have been 
established at Beramati, India, and one on Pentecost 
Island, New Hebrides. Seven white missionaries and 
twelve natives are employed at these two points, and 
more than three hundred have been baptized in a single 
year. This work is done through a committee appointed 
by the churches at their annual conference. 

HORS-DE-ROME MISSION, FRANCE. 

In May, 1909, Alfred E. Seddon was sent by the 
Christian Standard to France to write up the Hors-de- 
Rome movement in that country. He was to remain 
there five months. No other instructions were given 
him, hence the mission v/ork that sprang out of it may 
be regarded as a work of Providence. 

Soon after Mr. Seddon reached Paris he made the 
acquaintance of some ex-priests, and a systematic study 
of the New Testament was begun. The first meeting 
was held in the home of M. Hautefeuille, on July 4. 
Ten ex-priests and some of their wives were present. 
On the first Lord's Day of August regular preaching 
services were inaugurated in a hall. These meetings 
were kept up until May, 1911. On September 8 Mr. 
Hautefeuille, who had recently been baptized, was sol- 
emnly set apart to the ministry of the Word. In the 



242 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

month following, Mr. Seddon secured a three years' 
lease on the house, No. 45 rue Raspail, Vanves (Seine), 
just outside of Paris, on the S. W., which is the head- 
quarters of the work. It is known as "Ecole Biblique.'' 
Sunday preaching services are held at two places, with 
Bible school and a meeting for mothers. 

A paper, the Messager Chretien^ is published, and 
also a number of books, tracts and New Testaments 
have been translated and distributed. A large corre- 
spondence is reaching influential persons in France, 
Belgium, Switzerland and Italy. About fifty people 
have been baptized. 

Mr. Seddon is supported by his salary as European 
correspondent of the Standard, and the work in other 
respects by voluntary offerings of friends. The outlook 
for the purchase of a permanent home is good. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

Russia and Germany. 

Sweeney and Patmont Sent to Russia — St. Petersburg 
— Moscow — Warsaw — Germany. 

The principles of this Restoration movement, being 
a reproduction of those of the New Testament church, 
are as native to the soul of man as water and bread are 
to his body. Each was made for the other, and there 
can be no strong, happy life until the two are brought 
together. Evidences of this fundamental fact are 
numerous in the earlier chapters of this story, but none 
are more striking and more promising than those re- 
cently discovered in Russia and Germany. 

RUSSIA. 

The brethren in New York, being at the principal 
gateway of the nation, and having a band of Russian 
Christians in their midst, were naturally the first to note 
the movement in that land. And, like the church in 
Jerusalem when she heard the good news from Antioch, 
they sent a messenger to see about it. Jerusalem sent 
Barnabas, perhaps her best man, to learn fully as to 
the report that Gentiles were to be received in the church 
as well as the Jews, and great good followed. And 
New York made an equally wise selection when Z. T. 
Sweeney was sent to Russia. He is a man of excep- 
tional mental and moral strength ; he comes of a dis- 
tinguished preaching family; he is one of the foremost 
preachers of the land, and now occupies a pulpit in New 
York City; and he is experienced in world affairs, hav- 

243 



244 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

ing served our nation as Consul General at Constan- 
tinople. But, above all this, he knows the truth and 
loves it, and it Vvdll always be safe in his hands. 

ST. PETERSBURG. 

On Apr. 23, 1913, Mr. Sweeney sailed from New 
York, and on the morning of May 8 he arrived in 
St. Petersburg. Louis R. Patmont, special correspond- 
ent of the Christian Standard^ accompanied him as inter- 
preter. Here he found a church of nine hundred mem- 
bers, seven hundred of whom live in the city. All are 
baptized believers. They call themselves by Bible 
names. And when the Government required that they 
take some other title distinguishing them from the de- 
nominations, they chose the name ''Gospel Christians." 
The wisdom of this choice is manifest in the fact that, 
while it enables them to be courteous to the king, it 
leaves them loyal to their Lord. They recognize no 
authority in the religious life but that of Christ and his 
apostles. New Testament Christianity is stressed as 
strongly there as it is in the United States. Their influ- 
ence is felt in all circles — the high as well as the low, 
the Governmental circles and royal palaces as well as in 
the humbler homxcs of life. Many counts and countesses, 
princes and princesses, are in sympathy w^ith them, and 
quietly encourage their work. This they do because, 
after careful investigation, they are satisfied that their 
influence is good for the state. The emperor has ex- 
tended them recognition, as he has to no other dissenting 
body. This is largely the result of the wise and dip- 
lomatic conduct of their leader, Ivan S. Prokhanoff. 
They have but one church, but it meets at six regular 
meeting-places, and at four other places irregularly. 
They hold prayer-meetings, Bible-study meetings and 



RUSSIA AND GERMANY 245 

evangelistic meetings, and many are saved. They sup- 
port two missionaries working among the young. There 
are fifty preachers in this church; most of them, Hke 
Paul, Hve by tent-making, and preach without pay. They 
have a preachers' meeting every Monday evening, when 
one of their number delivers a sermon, which is re- 
viewed by the brethren. Following this, Mr. Prokhanoff 
delivers a lecture, which is eagerly ''noted" by the 
preachers. 

These lectures and sermons are a part of the work 
of the Bible College, one of the most important fea- 
tures of the Russian work. It is of recent origin, and, 
for want of friends, it is conducted on a limited scale. 
Only ten out of thirty applicants were admitted at the 
opening term. It is believed that the capacity will be 
increased to fifty by the beginning of the second year, 
and that soon it will be sending forth each year a hun- 
dred well-equipped men into the rich, ripe fields waiting 
for the gospel, and not one of them will be looking for 
easy places or large salaries. A strong financial move- 
ment in America promises them aid in their hour of 
emergency. 

The brethren of the empire have a national organiza- 
tion, called the ''Council of All Russia's Evangelical 
Christian Union," with headquarters at St. Petersburg. 
This is a voluntary association, composed of messengers 
from the different congregations. At the last meeting 
there were i6o messengers from outside of the city, rep- 
resenting all parts of the empire, from Kiev on the west 
and Vladivostock on the far east, and from Viatka on 
the north to Batoum on the south. From north to south 
these points are twenty-five hundred miles apart, and 
from east to west the distance is six thousand miles. 
The "Council," recognizing the local congregation as the 



246 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

highest legislative body in the church, is simply sugges- 
tive and advisory in its work. There are thirty-six 
evangelists in the field, and new congregations are being 
organized. 

Mr. Sweeney attended ten meetings of St. Peters- 
burg Church, and became well acquainted with the 
preachers, members and methods of work, and he made 
a number of addresses setting forth the distinctive fea- 
tures of the Restoration movement. He emphasized 
with his characteristic force and clearness these fea- 
tures, laying special stress on the work of the Holy 
Spirit. His addresses were heard with enthusiasm, and 
by a rising vote they were heartily endorsed. 

This movement began about fifty years ago, and was 
led by General Pashkoff, a wealthy Russian holding an 
important position under the emperor. He was an in- 
tellectual giant, and his heart yearned for the truth 
with a desire which regarded no cost too great for that 
precious prize. He spent large sums of money in scat- 
tering the Bible among the people. On the coronation 
of Alexander HI. they were brought into the public 
squares by wagon-loads, and given to all who would 
accept them. Thus the seed of the kingdom in a single 
day was sent into every nook and corner of the vast 
empire. 

He preached the simple faith of the Book in season 
and out of season, and, naturally, it aroused violent op- 
postion in church circles, so that his friend, the emperor, 
warned him to desist. But this was impossible, and he 
was exiled. He found his way to Rome, where he con- 
tinued his good work till death. He has been aptly 
called "The Alexander Campbell of Russia,'* for his 
work there bears a striking resemblance to the work of 
Mr. Campbell in America. 



RUSSIA AND GERMANY 247 

Though dead, General Pashkoff's work continues. 
Ivan S. Prokhanoff, a native Russian of remarkable 
strength, has been called of God to complete the un- 
finished task. He is one of the great scholars of Russia. 
After graduating at the Imperial University at St. 
Petersburg, he continued his studies in London, Paris 
and Berlin, so that he can teach and preach in Russian, 
English, French and German. He held a professorship 
in one of the imperial universities when he began to 
preach the new-found faith. He was informed that he 
would have to give up one or the other, and he promptly 
gave up the professorship. 

Mr. Prokhanofif has not yet reached his prime, being 
less than forty years of age. Physically, intellectually and 
spiritually he seems to be a perfect specimen of manhood. 
He is a tireless worker and great organizer, and he be- 
lieves that God is using him, as he did Joshua, to carry 
forward the mighty work of his illustrious predecessor. 

MOSCOW. 

Brethren Sweeney and Patmont, bearing letters from 
the church in St. Petersburg, were warmly welcomed in 
Moscow. Here also addresses were made presenting 
the teachings of the American brethren, and again they 
were heartily endorsed. The church in Moscow has 
seven hundred members and six diflferent meeting-places. 
The people seem generally prosperous and consecrated, 
and the outlook is bright. 

Progress in Russia means sacrifice akin to that of 
the New Testament church. Opposition is bitter and 
strong, and every forward step is marked by sacrifice, 
tears, and sometimes blood. The struggle for truth and 
liberty is still on, and it will not cease until all ecclesias- 
tical and civil despots bow their knees to the Lord of 

(9) 



248 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

lords and King of kings. And the Moscow Church, led 
by their veteran minister, Bro. Dolgopoloff, understands 
this, and is ready to meet the issue in the spirit and 
strength of the Master. It has a host of splendid young 
men, many of whom are cultured and wealthy, and yet 
they gladly mingle with the uncultured and the lowly, 
showing that all are one in the Lord. And the minister 
has an invaluable friend in Nestor P. Tkochenko, one 
of the elders, who, for years, has been an untiring 
worker in the congregation. They have three meeting- 
places, and are having a steady growth in the city. 

WARSAW. 

The story of Poland is one of the saddest in the 
history of nations — sadder even than that of Ireland. 
She has groaned under the iron heel of the oppressor 
for many years. Three hundred years ago it looked as 
if she was to be delivered, but that arch-enemy of all 
liberty, political and religious — the Pope, with his Jesuits 
— blighted her hopes, and shoved her back into a deeper 
darkness. The degrading manifestations of religious 
sentiment in India may be duplicated in Catholic Poland. 
Poor peasants may be seen licking the filthy floor as 
they crawl from the door of the church to the high altar 
to propitiate some saint or ^'Mother of God.'' Not satis- 
fied with all the Madonnas of the white race, they have 
created a black one, endowed with special healing power 
in all diseases, and with special protecting power in the 
most corrupt practices, and possessed of the help needed 
by girls in finding husbands. Popery here is ancient 
paganism, which, for political reasons, is sailing under 
the banner of Christianity. 

But Poland at last shows signs of awakening from 
the long slumber of three centuries. The sons and 



RUSSIA AND GERMANY 249 

daughters of the pioneers of Protestantism, driven from 
the field so long ago, are turning their eyes to the Bible, 
and reaching out with hungry hearts for the bread of 
life. The land is filled with restless truth-seekers, who 
know little of Christ and the gospel; but they have 
broken with Rome, and are ready and anxious to receive 
New Testament Christianity. Perhaps there is not a 
more inviting mission field in all the world than Poland. 
A nobler race never breathed than the pure Polish peo- 
ple. In the days of their glory they were always virile, 
heroic and generous. No true Caucasian should forget 
that it was King Sobieski of Poland who, in 1683, at the 
head of twenty thousand Poles, came to the relief of 
Vienna, and saved all Europe from invasion by an 
Asiatic horde led on by the Turks. And no liberty-loving 
people should forget that Poland was the first European 
nation to give its people a constitution. And no Amer- 
ican will ever cease to be grateful to Poland for her 
sympathy and help when we were struggling for free- 
dom. They heard our cry, and many of her noble sons 
came and fought with Washington until victory was 
won, among them the brave Kosciusko and Pulaski, the 
latter dying for us in battle at Savannah, Ga. Neither 
must we forget that to-day three million of these people 
have come to make their home with us. They are tired 
of Popery, and are free from the environment of their 
former slavery, and are at the point where they can be 
m.ore easily reached by the truth than ever before. 

What seems to be the dawn of the day of emancipa- 
tion for Poland reads more like romance than history. 
The unexpected coming of Nehemiah for the rebuilding 
of the walls of Jerusalem, and the relighting of the 
hope of Israel, was not more dramatic than the appear- 
ance of Waclaw Zebrowski in the midst of the Polish 



250 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

people of to-day. This splendid young man, after five 
years' experience as a priest, turned in disgust from the 
corruptions of the Romish Church. So great was his 
influence, and so common was this feeling of disgust, 
that thirty-three other priests went with him. Out of 
their old parishioners they organized the Mariavit 
Church of Poland, which in America is known as the 
"Old Catholics.'' They emphasized social culture by build- 
ing houses for the toiling masses, thus enabling them to 
live in sanitary and comfortable quarters at a reasonable 
rent. The people gathered about him in great numbers, 
and were swayed by him like a forest in a storm. They 
saw that he was after the flock, rather than the fleece, 
and that his religion was good for the world that now 
is as well as for the world to come, and they naturally 
enrolled under his banner. 

The Mariavites were neither Catholics nor Protestants, 
and both the people and their leader stood at the parting 
of the ways, waiting for a fuller light and a steadier 
peace. Zebrowski gave himself to the earnest study of 
the Bible and prayer. His way was not clear and his 
heart was not happy. Like Luther, who went to the 
sacred (?) places of Rome in his hour of anxiety, so he 
journeyed to the Holy Land, hoping that, in the place 
where the Lord lived and labored and died, he might 
find peace. 

Later he sought peace by coming to America and 
being ordained a bishop in the Old Catholic Church, but 
he found that human ceremonies, like sacred places, 
could not bestow the rest and peace for which his soul 
was yearning. "Peace came,'' he said, "only after I was 
willing to obey the gospel, and was ready to give up all 
outward and inward idols ; after I was willing to submit 
to the will of God in the New Testament." 



RUSSIA AND GERMANY 251 

He resigned as priest of the Mariavit Church, and 
many of his people followed him. They rented private 
halls, and continued to walk in the light as they learned 
it. He still believed in, and practiced, ''mass.'' "I still 
believed in the real presence of Christ in the holy 
eucharist,'' he says, ''but I learned from the New Testa- 
ment of the spiritual presence of Christ wherever be- 
lievers were assembled in his name. I preached this 
truth, and more light came. The Lord had pity on us 
and showed us the utter uselessness of pictures of saints, 
altars and priestly robes. We gave up saying learned 
prayers, and began to call on the name of the Lord, ex- 
pressing to him the desires of our seeking souls." 

In reading the New Testament the baptismal question 
soon came up for solution, and Zebrowski visited Prok- 
hanoflf at St. Petersburg and other believers in Vilna and 
Berlin. He became satisfied that it was immersion. 
Several of the European Protestant denominations urged 
him to make his home with them, but failed. Neither 
would he be baptized by the Russian or German Bap- 
tists, for they required that he should join their denom- 
ination. He was also afraid to be baptized by the Rus- 
sian brethren, lest he should lose his influence with his 
followers, for the Poles have never become fully recon- 
ciled to their conquerors, the Russians. 

This was a serious dilemma. Zebrowski knew not 
what to do, and so in prayer he asked God for help. 
For a whole week they prayed and watched and waited. 
And while they were praying Sweeney and Patmont ap- 
peared, much as Peter appeared before Cornelius when 
he was facing a similar dilemma, and Zebrowski said to 
them : "Your coming is a direct answer to our prayers.' ' 
Zebrowski was led down into the river Visla, a stream 
dear to every Pole because of its history, but now doubly 



252 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

dear because of these baptisms, and was buried by Pat- 
mont with his Lord in baptism. He then baptized his 
officers. Soon after his return to America Bro. Sweeney 
received the following message from Zebrowski : 

"Dear Bro. Sweeney: — I wish to thank you very 
much for your visit and stay amongst us. You were a 
witness to our joy expressed in tears, and we shall long 
remember those happy days. Concerning our spiritual 
life and growth, I would inform you all is going well. 
Up to the present I have baptized about seventy persons, 
some of whom live in Warsaw, and some in Prushkov, 
near Warsaw. Every week I have several persons to 
baptize. We still meet in the small room, but are looking 
for a larger one, and, with God's help, hope to find one 
soon.'' 

May 1 8 and 19 will never be forgotten by the breth- 
ren at Warsaw. Sweeney preached morning and evening, 
and no message was ever more joyfully received. "That 
is what we believe since we study the New Testament," 
they said, "but we could not express ourselves so syste- 
matically and clearly.'' And they were full of joy to 
hear of the great brotherhood in America, and hoped the 
knowledge of each other would increase, and the ties 
of friendship would become tender and strong. And on 
Monday, the 19th, Bro. Zebrowski was set apart for the 
ministry of the Word by the imposition of hands. 
Sweeney made the ordination address and Patmont led 
in the prayer. 

Surely this is the work of God. The opening of the 
doors of one of the great nations of the earth in so short 
a time and in such a signal manner must be the doings 
of Jehovah. As Europe once called to Asia, saying, 
"Come over and help us !" so Russia now calls to Amer- 
ica, and we must go. A hundred thousand people there, 



RUSSIA AND GERMANY 253 

stuaying the same Book, are already one with us in faith, 
and millions more will join them, if we will give to them 
the gospel in its original simplicity and purity. 

GERMANY. 

Germany, another one of the world's great nations, 
is being influenced by the same leaven which is working 
such wonders in Russia. Bro. Patmont, on Apr. ig, 
1913, visited the German Baptist Theological Seminary 
at Hamburg, and spoke to the student body. His theme 
was, *The Apostolic Church.'' After giving a clear de- 
scription of the church, he closed with the thought that 
the divided church of the present could never restore the 
church of the New Testament. Not a word of exception 
was heard. This was because the founder of the German 
Baptist movement, I. G. Oncken, who was baptized in 
Hamburg in 1834, strove honestly to restore apostolic 
Christianity. He called his church ^'Believingly Baptized 
Christians.'' Professor Hess, the present rector of the 
seminary, is also in sympathy with the Restoration move- 
ment which we plead. 

The idea of immersion as Bible baptism is an old one 
in Germany, reaching back beyond Luther and Zwingli 
to the time of the Waldenses, and there have been many 
to preach and practice it; but most of them have been 
assimilated with the modern Baptists of Germany. How- 
ever, there still remains in southern Germany the rem- 
nant of a once mighty brotherhood of Christians, called 
"The Church of Jesus Christ." Carl A. Shaufler, born 
in 1792 and dying in 1877, was the leading spirit among 
these people. One of these churches in Stuttgart, in 
1861, had a membership of 1,364. Shaufler's teachings 
indicate that he was familiar with the writings of Alex- 
ander Campbell and Isaac Errett. He plead for the New 



254 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

Testament organization and practice. The Lord's Sup- 
per was observed every Lord's Day, and all human 
names and titles were rejected. He had no theological 
education, but, like Apollos, he was a powerful preacher, 
and ''mighty in word and in doctrine." At his death 
there was no Elisha to receive his mantle and lead on- 
ward the army of the Lord. But, more than this, the idea 
of an educated ministry was discouraged, and the saddest 
results followed. They seemed not to realize that even 
a message from Jehovah may be mutilated by the mes- 
senger. The Baptists have profited by this mistake, and 
sent educated men there, and great numbers have been 
absorbed by them. Yet large numbers of those thus ab- 
sorbed by the Baptist Church still cling to the New 
Testament ideals, and would, with proper encouragement, 
unite with those who plead for the restoration of primitive 
Christianity. In Wuertenberg and Baden there are about 
twenty weak congregations of this class ministered to by 
J. Theurer. He is a strong man, and is doing great 
things for God. He was baptized by Shaufler in 1870, 
and is now sixty-two years old, and he needs help. 

Our duty to God seems clear and urgent. Here is a 
solid foundation which it would require fifty years to 
lay, and a nucleus, tried and true, ready and anxious to 
aid in the rebuilding of the old walls and temple. And 
the need is a brave Nehemiah to lead in this work. May 
the Lord call him soon, and may our people hold up his 
hands while he leads in the work. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

Centennial Convention. 

A Noble Impulse — Attendance — Convention Sermons — 

Fraternal Greetings — Launching the ''Oregon'' — 

Veterans' Camp-fire — The Great Communion 

Service. 

The future historian will pronounce this one of the 
great conventions of the church. There were some things 
connected with the program which were hurtful. But 
when we recall the largeness of that program, and the 
freedom of thought always encouraged among us, we 
should not be surprised at these few unfortunate things, 
but rather that there were not more of them. The utter- 
ances of this large number of men and women from all 
parts of the world were remarkable for their unity. The 
few discordant notes only served to emphasize this har- 
mony. 

The Convention was the result of one of the noblest 
impulses of the heart — the desire to commemorate and 
emphasize worthy events in history. It was because of 
this impulse that we have the memorial Supper. Calvary 
is the place of the Saviour's sacrifice for a lost world, 
and it must not be forgotten; and so when he gave the 
emblems of his sacrifice to the disciples, he said: "This 
do in remembrance of me." This same impulse makes 
us write in large letters the names of Luther, Calvin, 
Wesley and Campbell. They have rendered conspicuous 
service for God, and, while we are not hero-worshipers, 
neither are we ingrates, and we do not forget to love 
and honor them. This noble impulse is seen in our 

255 



256 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

political life in the honor we bestow on Washington and 
the Fourth of July. This connection with our national 
freedom is like that of Calvary with the freedom of the 
soul, and we can not be true Americans and forget them. 

As the Declaration of Independence marks the be- 
ginning of our national life, so the "Declaration and Ad- 
dress,'' written by Thomas Campbell, Sept. 7, 1809, at 
Washington, Pa., and afterwards fully endorsed by his 
son Alexander, is generally regarded as the beginning 
of the Restoration movement of the nineteenth century — 
a movement wondrously blessed of God. It was alto- 
gether proper that its one hundredth anniversary should 
be commemorated by this Convention. It was also 
proper that Pittsburgh, Pa., near the place of its birth, 
should be the place, and Oct. 11-19, 1909, should be the 
time. And looking back from this first-century mile- 
post it seems perfectly clear that this is the work of God, 
and that it marks a new era in the history of the church 
— an era emphasizing the evils of division, and calling 
his people back, both in spirit and method, to the union 
for which the Lord prayed, and which was so successful 
in the first years of the life of the church. 

The Convention was well advertised and largely at- 
tended. W. R. Warren, Centennial secretary, traveled 
more than a hundred thousand miles in its interest, and 
hundreds of thousands of circular letters were sent 
through the mails. The Christian Standard rendered 
valuable service through its nine great monthly Centen- 
nial specials, which were sent in large numbers to persons 
in other religious bodies. The Christian-Evangelist also 
lent its aid liberally, and fully fifty thousand people at- 
tended it. 

The aims of the Centennial campaign were twenty- 
eight. Seven each were ^'Individual,'' ^'Congregational," 



CENTENNIAL CONVENTION 257 

"Institutional" and ''General/' Some of these were: 
''Daily worship in every home;" "Each one win one;" 
"An offering from every disciple to some Christian col- 
lege;" "All the church and as many more in the Bible 
school;" "Every church its mission;" "The college for 
the church, the church for the college, and both for 
Christ;" "Relief for all disabled ministers; permanent 
fund, $50,000;" "A thousand recruits to the ministry;" 
"Ten thousand organized adult classes;" "Two hundred 
thousand trained workers;" "Two million dollars for 
missions, benevolence and education;" "The promotion 
of Christian union by its practice." 

The attendance was so large that no hall could accom- 
modate the people. But even if there had been one suf- 
ficiently large, no speaker could have made himself heard. 
Pittsburgh is pre-eminently a business city, and she sel- 
dom, even for a day, gives her attention to anything but 
to her famous industries. But for an entire week she 
turned from all these and entered heartily into the spirit 
of the Convention. The immense crowds made it neces- 
sary to have from three to five parallel sessions. 

On Monday, Ocober 11, at 7:30 p. m., the Convention 
opened with two parallel sessions — one in Carnegie 
Music Hall, J. H. Garrison, of St. Louis, presiding, and 
the other at Luna Park, T. W. Phillips, of New Castle, 
Pa., in the chair. 

Hearty welcome addresses were made at Carnegie 
Hall by City Solicitor Chas. A. O'Brien, on behalf of the 
mayor, who was out of the city, and Wallace Tharp, 
minister of the First Christian Church, Pittsburgh. Re- 
sponses were made by H. P. Atkins, Richmond, Va. ; 
A. M. Harvuot, Cincinnati, O., and A. C. Rankine, Ade- 
laide, S. Austral. 

Two great Convention sermons were preached by 



258 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

George H. Combs, Kansas City, Mo., and I. J. Spencer, 
Lexington, Ky. Mr. Spencer's theme was ''Centraliza- 
tion on Christ; or. Sovereignty of Jesus;'' and that of 
Mr. Combs, ''What Is the Mission of the Disciples of 
Christ, and How May They Get It Done?" Both ser- 
mons are worthy of a place on these pages, but want of 
space forbids all, except a few quotations from only one 
of them. 

The text of Mr. Combs was John i8 : 2,7 - ''To this 
end was I born, and for this purpose came I into the 
world, that I should bear witness unto the truth." The 
preacher began by saying: "Nothing walks with aimless 
feet — nothing from lowliest carthorse in city ways to 
tallest angel in courts of God. The ship sails toward a 
port; the chariot rolls toward a goal. A single grain 
in a swirl of sand unstraining towards an end were 
plentiful proof of a godless world. Purpose is every- 
where, and this purpose grips the individual as well as 
the all. No man is born but that his work is born with 
him. The humblest cradle is rocked in the shadow of a 
divine decree. Worlds have orbits no more fixed than 
human souls. God's fingers tug at a baby as surely as at 
a star. 

"We, too, may say, 'For this cause came I into the 
world.' For something — a something central, imperial, 
a something undone, and not to be done by others — con- 
stitutes the justification of our being. We are either 
pretentious interlopers, or we are sent of God to do a 
given work. We are either a necessity or a nuisance." 

His answer to the question as to God's purpose in 
calling us into existence was : "The restoration of the 
unity of the church to the end that the world may be won 
to Christ. . . . The disunion of Christendom is more 
than economic waste; it is more than social inefficiency; 



CENTENNIAL CONVENTION 259 

it is more than loss of brotherhood — it is black and dam- 
ning sin. It has hindered the church in the past ; it makes 
futile the present endeavor; it blocks the way of the 
to-morrows. Disunity, with its thronging scandals, 
crucifies the Son of God afresh and puts him to an open 
shame. 

''It is our mission not merely to present a criticism, 
but a program; to offer not only a condemnation, but a 
platform. We were sent to translate yearning into ac- 
complishment, and dream of unity into deed. It is our 
mission to lead the Christian world from the fields of 
strife into that temple of unity wherein all men are 
brothers, and over all is God. But how shall this unity 
be brought about? By turning away from the ecclesias- 
tical traditions of eighteen hundred years, and the 
recovery of the simplicity of the early Christian faith. 
The church was once united, and to get back to a real 
unity you have only to follow the now separated streams 
of the churches until you reach that place in time and 
thought v/hen only one river flowed. Just as priceless 
frescoes on old cathedral walls covered over by lime of 
later days need only the removal of the covering wash 
that they may look out upon us with their splendid story, 
so the original church, where all were one in Christ, 
needs only to be freed from the clouding additions of 
disputatious years that its primal glory may be revealed. 
We construct nothing. We reform nothing. We pro- 
pose only to restore — to wash the old pictures of their 
dust and smoke that their beauties may live again. 

"We ask all Christians to unite by wearing a name at 
once catholic, Scriptural, the name that is the glory and 
inspiration of all our churches — the name of Christ. We 
ask all Christians to unite upon a creed bearing also the 
marks of Scripturalness and catholicity, a creed living. 



260 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

vital, unchanging — the person of Christ. We ask all 
Christians to unite upon the observances of the ordi- 
nances of the church as they are revealed in Scripture 
and in the catholic recognitions of the churches. In a 
word, we hold that, if the churches were to strip them- 
selves of all that is specially distinctive and sectarian, 
so divested, they would have all the marks of the apos- 
tolic, which is the united, church. Scripturalness, catho- 
licity — these are the twin fixed stars in whose light we 
journey as we seek the restoration of a united church.'* 

Thus in ringing words, not more beautiful than true, 
was the keynote of the Convention given, and it was 
echoed and re-echoed to the close. The questions of 
missions, education, temperance, benevolence, church 
extension, ministerial relief, Bible schools. Christian 
Endeavor, evangelism, the Lord's Supper, etc., were ably 
discussed. Thomas and Alexander Campbell, Walter 
Scott, Barton W. Stone, Isaac Errett and other heroes 
of our early history were remembered in worthy ad- 
dresses. The Restoration movement in its origin, char- 
acter, purpose, progress and outlook was the subject of 
a number of splendid speeches. 

Fraternal messengers from our own people in Aus- 
tralia, England, Canada and New Zealand, with greetings 
from missionaries from India, China, Japan, Africa, 
Mexico, Cuba, Norway, Sweden, and many other fields, 
in connection with the cordial greetings of delegates from 
the Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian and other churches, 
constituted one of the most delightful sessions of the 
Convention. 

Bishop Charles W. Smith, bearing the greetings of the 
great Methodist family, numbering 6,800,000, said: "I 
greet you in the name of our common Father, and in the 
name of Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord. As fellow- 



CENTENNIAL CONVENTION 261 

soldiers following the same flag, and under the command 
of the Captain of our salvation, I hail you on the march 
— hail and Godspeed ! A century is not a long period in 
the vast stretches of human history, but a hundred years 
of earnest Christian work can not be without lasting 
results in the establishment of the kingdom of God. To 
have gathered more than seven thousand ministers, al- 
most twelve thousand churches and about a million and 
a third of members during this period, with all the educa- 
tional, philanthropic and spiritual agencies belonging to 
such a movement, is a work well worthy of a great cele- 
bration. We, your friends and neighbors, are glad to be 
permitted to look in upon you on this happy occasion, 
tender our congratulations, and join with you in your 
rejoicings.'' 

J. T. McCrory, representing the United Presbyterian 
Church, said : 'T am charged by the General Assembly of 
the United Presbyterian Church to bring you the greet- 
ings and the Godspeed of that fellowship. I am espe- 
cially glad to bring you these greetings because we are 
related. We are blood relations. For you must remem- 
ber that your Thomas Campbell, who originated your 
movement, was born in the fellowship from which the 
United Presbyteriaa Church sprang. Away back in old 
Ireland he was a Seceder, and so were we then. And he 
came to this country, and over yonder in Washington 
County ministered to congregations of the Associate 
Church, and we were Associate. And so I congratulate 
you that you and we have the same ancestry. Now, 
maybe the reason we do not look so much alike as we 
might is because you have grown so much bigger than 
we, and features grow a little larger under those cir- 
cumstances. Well, you have grown. There is not any 
question about that ; marvelous development in a hundred 



262 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

years from a little handful of men to a million; from a 
little corner of a county town to the very ends of the 
earth. We believe with you that when the Lord's prayer 
is answered all shall be one. The world never will be 
won for Christ until God's people are one. Now, we 
might divide as to just where they should come together, 
but this is true : they will come together when they come 
to Jesus Christ. We look back beyond Luther and be- 
yond Calvin and beyond Knox and beyond Campbell to 
Jesus Christ.'' 

Lathan A. Crandall brought the greetings of the Bap- 
tist Church. He said: 'The visitor to Westminster 
Abbey, that mighty mausoleum of England's immortal 
dead, may read these words chiseled in a stone of the 
floor: 'May the rich blessings of God rest on every one 
— be he Englishman, American or Turk — who will help 
to heal the open sore of the world.' Ecclesiastical boun- 
daries can not circumscribe the fruits of devotion to 
Jesus Christ. The branches of unselfish service run over 
denominational walls and bear fruit for all the world. 
When John, the aged, was waiting out of his heart to 
the hearts of his fellow-Christians, he avowed that 'love 
is of God; and every one that loveth is begotten of God 
and knoweth God, for God is love.' Here is our goal. 
Other things are important; this is vital. Love is the 
divine dynamic. It answers every demand made by God 
upon the soul. If we seek Christian unity and the resto- 
ration of unadulterated Christianity, our first task is to 
enthrone love in our own hearts and the hearts of fellow- 
believers." 

These extracts from fraternal addresses, like fra- 
grance from flowers, are sweet, and they indicate the 
dawning of a day far different and better than the days 
of our fathers, when they hoisted the banner of Chris- 



CENTENNIAL CONVENTION 262 

tian union at this very place one hundred years ago. 

One of the most unique and interesting features of 
the Convention was the dedication and launching of the 
mission steamer, "The Oregon/' The funds for this ship 
were given by the churches of Oregon, and it was built 
by the James Reed & Sons Company, of Pittsburgh. An 
audience of five thousand witnessed the ceremony. The 
ship is for service on the Congo, Africa, where one of 
the most remarkable missions of modern times is being 
developed. The vessel was so constructed that it could 
be taken apart and shipped to its destination. About 
$5,000 was raised in about five minutes to defray the 
expenses of the transportation of the "Oregon'' to the 
Congo. The little ship has proved a rich boon to the 
African work. It accelerates travel and adds to its com- 
fort, and is a visible and powerful proof of the material 
blessings of Christianity. It advertises the work of the 
missionary as nothing else could. When floating grace- 
fully on the bosom of their great river, or forging its way 
against its strong waves, and when the shrill voice of its 
whistle penetrates deep into the vast forests, like the 
church bell in the home land, it is a call to the Christ 
and the higher life. 

Saturday, the i6th, was "Special Centennial Day.'^ 
Three parallel sessions were held, and all were crowded. 
The most impressive of these meetings was at the First 
Presbyterian Church, and known as "The Veterans' 
Camp-fire." Only those above seventy were called 
veterans, and about 350 of them, with a great throng of 
younger people, were present. L. L. Carpenter, with a 
gavel in his hand made of wood from the Brush Run 
meeting-house (Chap. X.), presided, and delivered the 
president's address. C. C. Cline led in the singing of 
"How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord." Alan- 



264 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

son Wilcox conducted the devotional service, and Jabez 
Hall led in prayer. Mr. Carpenter emphasized the fact 
that these old, toil-worn veterans, when fighting our first 
battles, were a Bible-believing army. ''Destructive crit- 
icism,'' with its death-dealing poison, was then unknown. 
And C. L. Loos, in a speech following, said : ''If you 
want this cause to triumph and live and be strong, be 
faithful to the Bible. But if you want to sap the founda- 
tion of this Reformation, if you want to see its towers 
fall to the ground, then be unfaithful to the old Book.'' 

Pres. J. W. McGarvey made the special address of 
the occasion, and it was most effective. In speaking of 
the courage of the early days, he said : "It is common to 
speak of you as the 'Old Guard,' taking the figure, like 
many of Paul's metaphors, from military phraseology. 
When Napoleon's Old Guard was almost annihilated at 
Waterloo, a generous British officer cried out to the com- 
mander, 'Surrender, and save the lives of your brave 
men.' The answer came back, 'The Old Guard can die, 
but they can not surrender.' So it is with you. You can 
die, and you are dying rapidly, but the word 'surrender' 
is not in your vocabulary." 

Brief speeches were made by C. L. Loos, D. R. Dun- 
gan, Clark Braden, Mr. Teachout (ninety- three years 
old), T. P. Haley, W. T. Moore, Mr. Bell (of Louisville, 
Ky.), W. L. Hayden, J. H. McCullough, A. J. Bush, and 
Mr. Clement, the senior member in the Old Dominion. 

When President Carpenter asked all who had been 
Christians seventy-five years or more to stand, three 
arose. One of these, Mrs. Duncan, when a child of nine 
years, made the "good confession" under the preaching 
of Alexander Campbell. The grandfather of her hus- 
band, Mr. Welch, was the man in whose home Thomas 
Campbell wrote the "Declaration and Address.'' 



CENTENNIAL CONVENTION 265 

The closing song, ''God Be with You Till We Meet 
Again," was sung with peculiar tenderness, for all felt 
that many of these old veterans would never meet again 
on earth. 

Lord's Day, the 17th, was the great day of the feast, 
and the crowning event of that day was the communion 
service in the afternoon in Forbes Field, when thirty 
thousand brethren sat together at the Lord's Supper, and 
five thousand more, as spectators, looked upon one of 
the most remarkable and impressive scenes in the history 
of the world. Many things tended to make it remarkable 
and impressive : 

1. The day. All the other days of the Convention 
had been damp and cold, such weather as would have 
made this service uncomfortable to all and impossible 
to many. But on this day the Lord added the only absent 
element needed for the great occasion by brushing away 
the clouds and bathing the earth in the warm sunshine. 
So marked was the change in the weather that many be- 
lieved and said it was a special providence. 

2. The place. Forbes Field is a huge amphitheater 
made of cement and steel, and dedicated to athletic sports. 
It was akin to the arena (Heb. 12: i) which suggested 
to Paul the ''great cloud of witnesses" looking down from 
the heavens on the Christian racer. It was roofed, but 
open except in the rear. Here only one week ago a vast 
throng witnessed the world's champion baseball games, 
and the echoes of the wild enthusiasm, mingled with 
anger and profanity, had hardly died away. The in- 
congruity was plain and painful, and seemed to make 
impossible the sacredness of the Supper. One might 
preach or sing here, but how can he commemorate the 
agonies of his dying Lord? That service, of all others, 
needs harmonious surroundings, and Forbes Field not 



286 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

only does not furnish these, but it crowds the vision, the 
imagination and the memory with that which would de- 
stroy them. But this was not true. God can be wor- 
shiped anywhere (John 4: 19-21). The place is not so 
important as the heart. And so the reverent and mighty 
instinct of worship asserted itself, and Forbes Field be- 
came a temple of God. 

3. The audience. The heart is stolid indeed which is 
not moved by the sight of thirty-five thousand people 
massed in a single audience. From end to end of that 
multitude was almost the distance of two city blocks, 
and still the order was perfect. Policemen were there, it 
is true, but never were they more needless. These were 
not dangerous lawbreakers ; this was not an excited mob 
ready to wreak vengeance on an enemy ; oh, no ; it was a 
company of the saints assembled for the worship of their 
Saviour. 

4. The order of the service. It seemed to be perfect, 
and to Wallace Tharp, of the First Church of Pittsburgh, 
we are indebted for this most important feature of the 
service. It was printed and in the hands of all. Mr. 
Tharp, with a chorus of two hundred voices behind him^ 
stood well within the enclosure of the grandstand wings. 
Announcements by megaphone reached every part of the 
audience, and signals by flag for the commencement of 
each part were visible to all. When the great audience, 
as if moved by magic, led by the chorus and eight cornets, 
began to sing in perfect harmony, ''Nearer, My God, to 
Thee,'' there was not only a mighty wave of melody 
sweeping through the building and far out into the open, 
but there was an inner wave that touched the soul and 
brought it nearer to God. It was also a soulful moment 
when, in unison, those thousands repeated the prayer, 
"Our Father, who art in heaven,'' etc. And bosoms 



CENTENNIAL CONVENTION 267 

heaved and eyes swam in tears when, in subdued tones, 
the great multitude sang ; 

" 'Tis midnight, and on Olive's brow 
The suffering Saviour prays alone." 

One hundred elders, among them many of our oldest 
and most distinguished preachers, and five hundred dea- 
cons presided at the tables and waited on the people. 
Not a word was spoken except in the reading of the 
Scriptures and prayers, which, like the songs, were par- 
ticipated in by all. It required just one hour to complete 
the service, and at its close the goblets and table coverings 
used were eagerly sought as cherished souvenirs. 

As we turned away from this wonderful service we 
carried with us some ineffaceable impressions: 

1. The power of Christianity. If any man thinks our 
holy religion is dead or dying, he should have been at 
Forbes Field that day. What but a living and mighty 
power could have drawn that throng together from all 
parts of the world — from Europe, Asia, Africa, India, 
China, Japan, Mexico, Canada, America and the islands 
of the sea — and held them spellbound in its grasp for an 
hour, and then sent them away filled with high and holy 
aspirations ? 

2. The cross is the magnet which draws. The Saviour 
said: 'T, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all 
men unto me" (John 12:32), and Paul, the greatest 
preacher, said: "I determined to know nothing among 
you save Jesus Christ and him crucified" (2 Cor. 2:2). 
'The blood is the life" (Deut. 12 : 23), therefore a blood- 
less man is a lifeless man. But this is not more true of 
our bodies than of our religion. All the ceremonies of 
the Old Testament were left behind except that one 
which symbolized the blood of redemption. This one 
was brought over and incorporated in the New, and made 



268 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

permanent as a symbol of Calvary. The miracles of 
Jesus were mighty, his moral code was matchless, and 
his life was sinless, but these can not save the soul. It 
is the *'blood of Jesus Christ that cleanseth us from all 
sin" (i John 1:7). As it was with the primitive church, 
so has it been with this Restoration movement : the Sup- 
per has always been a cardinal feature in our Lord's Day 
worship, and it must remain so, or, like Samson, we will 
be shorn of our power. If need be, let the sermon and 
the song go, but never the Supper. 

And so we pass the first-century milepost in our 
journey. God has done great things for us and through 
us, whereof we are glad. From a ^^feeble folk,'' despised 
and rejected by many, we have grown into a great host, 
courted and welcomed and honored as one of the leading 
factors in the Christian world. What He will do for us 
and by us in the century to come. He only knows. But 
if we will only be true to Him, it will be infinitely greater 
than the past. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

Retrospect. 

The Time — The Place — Bible Teaching — The Deity of 

Jesus — Faith and Opinion — Faith Not Doctrinal, but 

Personal — Rule of Faith and Practice — Con- 

version — Evangelism — The Holy Spirit — 

Bible Schools — Christian Union. 

Now that the great Convention is over, let us, while 
standing on the mountain-top, use it as an observatory 
from which to take a view retrospective and prospective : 
looking backward over the past and forward to the 
future — noting what has been accomplished, and what 
yet remains to be done. A people to have made such 
a record as we have just seen, and at such a time as the 
nineteenth century, and in spite of the difficulties en- 
countered, are indeed "a peculiar people," and it will be 
both interesting and profitable to study their method of 
work. What are some of the leading elements of suc- 
cess ? 

I. The time. To begin a great enterprise too soon or 
too late is generally a fatal error. It. is like pulling 
unripe fruit. The world is robbed and we are not en- 
riched. Moses made this mistake, and he had to wait in 
the wilderness forty long years. But the "Declaration 
and Address" came in the fullness of time. Away back 
in the time of the Albigenses and Waldenses are seen the 
first evidences of reformation and restoration, but they 
are in the germ. Like leaven, they spread far and wide 
on both sides of the sea. The religious world, conscious 
of its need, and hoping and praying for relief, heard the 

269 



270 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

voice of Thomas Campbell in this great utterance, and 
gradually gave it heed. The fruit was ripe when he 
plucked it; the iron was hot when he struck it. God, 
for almost two thousand years, had been shaping events 
for this momentous hour, and now for the first time all 
things were ready. 

2. The place. The place was also providential. Such 
a movement could not have succeeded in Europe at that 
day. Europe furnished the seed, but America furnished 
the soil. The fetters which bound religious thought in 
the Old World, with the political fetters of that region, 
had been broken by the Revolutionary War, and our 
free institutions and virgin soil lent themselves gener- 
ously to the new message from heaven. The best seed 
will fail without the proper soil. The Master's parable 
(Matt. 13 : 3-9, 18-23) is misnamed. It is not the parable 
of the sower, but the parable of the soiL The seed, 
God's truth, is always good, but not so the soil. 

3. Bible teaching. With the coming of the Camp- 
bells there came a better method of Bible teaching. They 
were true to their slogan, ''Where the Bible speaks, we 
speak; where the Bible is silent, we are silent." They 
insisted that what the Book said was more important 
than what they said about the Book; hence their effort 
was to unfold the Scriptures and let them speak for 
themselves. They longed for new light, and when it thus 
flashed on their way, they did not, crawfish-like, back 
away from it, but welcomed it and walked in it. Mr. 
Campbell's fine figure representing the Patriarchal age as 
the starlight, the Jewish age as the moonlight, and the 
Christian age as the sunlight, has not only moulded the 
method of teaching in the Restoration movement, but it 
is influencing greatly the teaching in the religious world 
at large. The Bible was a tangled skein until they found 



RETROSPECT 271 

this clue. It was dispensational. The patriarchs came 
first, and directed the family life for twenty-five hundred 
years ; Moses came second, and bound these families into 
a nation, and for fifteen hundred years he was their 
leader and lawgiver; then the Christ came, and, gather- 
ing together every universal principle in the past, and 
adding all that was lacking, he issued a proclamation in- 
cluding all men and for all time. In 1816 Mr. Campbell 
preached his famous sermon on the "Law'' before the 
Red Stone Baptist Association, setting forth these ideas. 
They were then so new and revolutionary that many 
thought them heresy, and his trouble with the Baptist 
people began at that time. 

Adapting the same method to the New Testament, it 
at once became the Book of the common people. It 
was fourfold in its divisions: the first four books were 
history, and told about the Christ; the fifth book, the 
book of conversion, told about the establishment of the 
church ; the twenty-one Epistles were addressed to Chris- 
tians, teaching them how to live the Christian life, and 
the last book was a prophecy, telling of the struggles and 
trium.phs of the church in the future. 

4. The deity of Jesus. The word "deity,'' instead of 
"divinity," is used because of the modern abuse of the 
second word. As used by the Campbells, it needed no 
substitute, for it meant nothing less than God in the 
flesh. But now in many pulpits and schools it means 
nothing more than the divinity found in all humanity. 
It has been juggled with until it has become the hiding- 
place of men who should, in common honesty, raise an- 
other flag and no longer pretend to be loyal to the Christ, 
"who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to 
be equal with God/' who in the beginning "was with 
God, and was God" (Phil. 2:6; John 1:1). 



:272 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

Naturally, when these men began an independent 
study of the Book, they soon found that Christ was its 
center. He was to the spiritual universe what the sun 
was to the material world — the center around which all 
other lights revolved, and from which they received their 
powers of illumination. He was the ''Alpha and the 
Omega, the beginning and the end'' (Rev. 21 : 6). Chris- 
tianity was to be distinctly Christocentric. At that time 
in the denominational world the church was creedo- 
centric. A man's standing in his church depended far 
more on his acceptance of the creed than on his loyalty 
to the Christ. This, therefore, is the greatest discovery 
of the nineteenth century. Preceding reformers had 
done much, but they had not done this. Luther, Calvin, 
Wesley and the Haldanes had done great things for God 
— so great that time will never efface their fame, and 
history will see that they receive their meed of praise. 
But they did not go far enough — perhaps they could 
not because of the habits and customs of the past — 
neither were they consistent with the principles of their 
plea. But the Campbells gave Him first place. They ex- 
alted Him above all creeds, all doctrines, all ordinances. 
They made Him chief among ten thousand, and the one 
altogether lovely. When He stood, all others must kneel, 
and when He spoke, all others must be silent. And all 
through the century of our growth, with the steadiness 
of the stars, which, despite the shocks of the earth, point 
to the North Star, so have we pointed to the Star of 
Bethlehem. ''What must I believe to be saved?" is not 
so important as ''Whom must I believe?" At the 
threshold of the church the man who would enter is met 
with a single question: "Do you believe with all the heart 
4hat Jesus is the Christ, the Son of Godf (Acts 8: 37). 
When Alexander Campbell was baptized (Chap. 



RETROSPECT 273 

XIII.), even though the administrater was a Baptist 
preacher, the usual ''religious experience'' required by 
that church as an essential to the ordinance was dis- 
pensed with, and this apostolic confession was substituted 
in its place. 

5. Faith and opinion. The distinction between faith 
and opinion was clearly made and strongly emphasized 
by these pioneers, and the result was of great impor- 
tance. They were not opposed to philosophical investi- 
gation. They were schoolmen themselves, and were 
laboring for the best school advantages for others. They 
knew that a boy was not more truly ''an animated inter- 
rogation point'' than was his father, and hence the ever- 
lasting Why was always well to the front among thinking 
men. But they insisted that salvation was a matter of 
faith, and faith rested on facts, and not on opinions and 
speculations concerning the facts. This was the realm 
of philosophy, and none but the philosophical could 
enter it. But Christianity was for all, and it could never 
reach all if loaded down with philosophical speculations 
and intricate statements of truth, however true, and 
however valuable, to the few capable of comprehending 
them. The masses could never become Christians if re- 
quired to become philosophers first. For a striking illus- 
tration of this point, in the case of Aylett Raines, see 
Chapter XXI. 

6. Faith not doctrinal, hut personal. On this vital 
point these men stood almost alone in their day. Since 
only the Christ could save, said they, and since we come 
to him only through faith, therefore this faith must not 
be doctrinal, but personal. We do not believe in faith 
or repentance or baptism — true dogmas concerning the 
Christ — but we believe in him, and do these things be- 
cause he commanded them. 



274 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

When the student believes in his teacher, or the 
soldier in his leader, he obeys their commands whether 
he understands them or not. There are many things 
in the history of our Christ far beyond our powers of 
reason — the virgin birth, for example — but there is noth- 
ing, absolutely nothing, outside the broad realm of faith 
in him. He, a living, loving, mighty Personality, is the 
foundation of our faith; hence it throbs with life, and 
constantly urges us onward into a larger and sweeter and 
more fruitful life in him. Dead creeds never move, but 
a living leader is never still. 

7. Rule of faith and practice. The rediscovery of the 
Christ as the true creed of Christendom was the master- 
stroke of the Campbells and their colaborers. But the 
substitution of the New Testament for all human confes- 
sions of faith, as the true rule of faith and practice, was 
almost as important. ''The church knows nothing of 
superior or inferior church judicatories,'' said Mr. Camp- 
bell, "and acknov/ledges no laws, no canons or govern- 
ment, other than that of the Monarch of the universe 
and his laws. This church, having now committed unto 
it the oracles of God, is adequate to all the purposes of 
illumination and reformation which entered into the de- 
sign of its Founder." 

They did not object to the publishing of their views 
of the teaching of the Book on questions of faith and 
duty as a matter of Bible study. Mr. Campbell did much 
work of this kind in the Harbinger and in the Christian 
System, and Isaac Errett later published a tract, "Our 
Position," which has been widely circulated, and is gen- 
erally regarded as a correct statement of the movement. 
This writer remembers distinctly the first time this fact 
was made known to him. He had been reared in a 
church where an elaborate written creed existed, to which 



RETROSPECT 275 

all inquirers were referred for information concerning 
the church. He had heard D. M. Grandfield preach, and 
was impressed with the plea he represented, and asked 
him for their creed, or rule of faith and practice, that 
he might the better understand them. Mr. Grandfield 
handed him a well-fingered copy of the New Testament, 
saying, *This is our only rule of faith and practice.'' 
He followed this astounding declaration with the main 
reasons why they had substituted the book of God for 
the books of men, closing with this fine statement : 'Tf a 
hum.an creed contains more than the New Testament, it 
contains too much ; if it contains less than the New Tes- 
tament, it contains too little; and if it contains the same 
as the New Testament, it is needless, for we already 
have the New Testament.'' From that day until now the 
logic of that statement has never been successfully as- 
sailed, and its lucidity has never needed explanation. 

The demonstration that a religious movement can be 
held together and propelled forward with no creed but 
the Christ (creed meaning the belief essential to salva- 
tion), and with no authoritative rule of faith and prac- 
tice other than the New Testament, is a large element in 
the success of the past, and its value is as great now as 
then. The regnant thought in the Christian world to-day 
is the supremacy of Christ. He is being exalted above 
all parties, creeds, names and denominations. In many 
places where creeds still exist, their existence is only in 
name. Christ is recognized as the light, life and author- 
ity of the soul. The song now on all lips is rapidly 
becoming : 

*'A11 hail the power of Jesus* name ! 
Let angels prostrate fall ; 
Bring forth the royal diadem, 
And crown him Lord of all.'* 



276 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

The source of authority in the United States Hes with 
the people, and is expressed in a written Constitution, 
for ours is a republic ; but the church is a monarchy, with 
Christ as King, and the New Testament is the constitu- 
tion by which he governs that kingdom. The constitu- 
tion of our land has already had many amendments, and 
these amendments will increase with our age and growth, 
but the constitution of this divine kingdom is not subject 
to amendment. 

8. Conversion. At this point wonderful results have 
obtained. It might be compared to the sun rising upon 
a clouded earth, driving away the darkness and flooding 
it with light. One hundred years ago the darkness sur- 
rounding the question of conversion was worse than can 
well be imagined to-day. Calvinistic theology held the 
world in a stupor. Instead of looking to the conversion 
in the Book of Acts as a guide, the people, misled by 
their teachers, were looking to those transpiring in their 
midst, and before their eyes, a majority "of which were 
of the most extreme and fanatical character. 

The assault on this error was along two lines. The 
first was philosophical. These new teachers argued that, 
if a man's death in sin rendered him incapable of action, 
then it would be unjust to condemn him for non-action. 
No one would condemn a wheel for being crushed be- 
cause of non-action until external power had been ap- 
plied, but not so a man; he ought, when warned, to gtt 
out of the way. 

Their second argument was an appeal to the Book. 
They showed that the Scriptures, when correctly trans- 
lated, made the sinner active, and not passive, in conver- 
sion. The appeal was not "Repent and he converted'' 
but ''Repent and turn'' — a difference equal to the differ- 
ence between a dead man and a living man. They then 



RETROSPECT 211 

strengthened this position by a detailed examination of 
the cases of conversion in Acts, showing that, in each of 
them, the man of his own accord heard, beHeved and 
obeyed. 

This appeal was irresistible, especially among the 
more thoughtful. The clouds of superstition lifted, and 
the light from the Sun of righteousness filled the earth, 
and multitudes rallied round the cross. 

9. Evangelism. Evangelism, so strongly stressed by 
these people, was a logical result of their position. When 
something new and startling has transpired in the school, 
the children vie with each other in scattering the news. 
But their discovery was not only new and startling — it 
was such as to bring joy to thousands who were floun- 
dering in the religious fog and mysticism of that time. 
There was something in this glad message that lent light- 
ness to their feet and eloquence to their lips, and sent 
them everywhere telling it. And so, for the first half 
of the nineteenth century, they gave themselves up al- 
most entirely to evangelistic work. The spirit of zeal 
and self-sacrifice was like that of the apostolic age. 
Without money and without price they traveled far and 
wide, preaching in schoolhouses, courthouses, private 
houses, barns and under the forest trees, and their suc- 
cess was phenomenal. In spite of violent opposition, they 
gained victory after victory. 

Some have criticised them for the friction they 
aroused, but unjustly. Their message was revolutionary. 
Like their predecessors in New Testament times, they 
were turning the world upside down, and this can not 
be done without a fight. The clergy could not be ex- 
pected to stand idly by and see their theology shot into 
holes, and great numbers, with many of their own flocks, 
gathered into another fold. A collision was as unavoid- 



278 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

able as it was in the first century. An aggressive gospel 
will generally arouse opposition. Of course in our time, 
when this message is familiar and popular, in many 
places there is no need of this antagonism, and it is not 
aroused. 

This evangelistic zeal still continues. Larger in- 
gatherings are witnessed to-day than ever before. And 
the work is not confined to special evangelists. Many of 
the local ministers are richly endowed with evangelistic 
power, and they baptize the people continuously. In 
fact, a dry baptistery is regarded as proof of an in- 
efficient pulpit. 

These men taught that in becoming a Christian three 
great changes were necessary: a change of heart pro- 
duced by faith, a change of life produced by repentance, 
and a change of state produced by baptism. They illus- 
trated it in a forcible and unforgettable way. They com- 
pared it to the marriage relation, with Christ as the 
groom and the church as the bride. In every true mar- 
riage there must be these three changes. Faith in each 
other produces affection. This is followed by a change 
in their lives — preparation for the new relationship. But 
these changes, however great, do not constitute a mar- 
riage. But when the appointed time comes, and the 
marriage ceremony is performed, they are married. This 
ceremony changes their state or relation. Before the 
ceremony they were in the single state, but after it they 
were in the married state. The marriage is not dated 
from the time of the first or second change, but from the 
time of the third. And if the man worth a million dollars 
falls dead before the ceremony, the woman can not claim 
a single penny of his fortune; but if he dies after the 
ceremony, the law gives her the wife's portion. 

lo. The Holy Spirit. Valuable work was done at 



RETROSPECT 279 

this point, especially on the agency of the Spirit in con- 
version. The popular idea at that time was that the 
Spirit, in some miraculous manner, independent of the 
Word, produced every genuine conversion. The sinner 
being dead in sin, and unable to think a good thought 
or do a good deed, and the Word, unaccompanied by 
this miraculous power, being a ''dead letter,'' such an 
extraneous influence was an absolute necessity. 

This theory was successfully combated with a three- 
fold argument: i. The apostles, when sent out on their 
mission of converting the world to Christ, v/ere not told 
to preach the Spirit, but the gospel (Mark i6: 15, 16; 
Rom. 1 : 16). 2. In the history of their preaching, which 
resulted in the conversion of hundreds of thousands, 
it was seen that they faithfully followed instructions. 3. 
The Holy Spirit was not a command to be preached, 
but a promise to be received (Acts 2 : 38) ; and when 
we obey the gospel, God will attend to it whether we 
understand it or not. But let no one infer that a light 
estimate was placed on the work of the Spirit. 'T would 
not value at the price of a single mill,'' said A. Campbell, 
"the religion of any man which was not begun, carried 
on and completed by the Holy Spirit." 

II. Bible schools. As early as 1849, when the Amer- 
ican Christian Missionary Society was organized, A. S. 
Hayden and Isaac Errett issued an appeal in behalf of 
Sunday-school work, and the Convention appointed a 
committee on Sunday-school literature. This was the 
initial move which has led up to the phenomenal interest 
among us to-day; an interest which has become an en- 
thusiasm, not only in our own ranks, but it has over- 
flowed into the ranks of our religious neighbors. Great 
schools are seen everywhere, with better organization 
and better teaching than ever before. The school at 

(10) 



280 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

Canton, O., under the leadership of P. H. Welshimer, 
is at the head of the list, and is known the world over. 
Up-to-date literature, prepared by experts, is flowing 
from the printing-presses, and separate chairs are being 
established in our schools on Bible-school pedagogy. At 
last we are thoroughly av/ake to the fact that the way 
to save the man is to save the child, and that, in the main, 
conversions should be an evolution rather than a revolu- 
tion — the children growing into the kingdom, and not, 
in later years, being plucked as brands from the burning. 
In this great work there are many notable leaders, and 
it is no disparagement to others when we mention W. 
W. Dowling as a pioneer, and Herbert Moninger as the 
leader in modern-day methods. 

12. Christian union. Perhaps the most important of 
these elements is the plea and plan for the union of 
God's people. The m.ovement had its origin in a desire 
for union. Its great battles and splendid victories have 
been fought and won under this banner, and the final 
triumph must be here, or it will never be. 

But the outlook is full of hope. It is almost impos- 
sible to appreciate the conditions of one hundred years 
ago, so great has been the progress of the Protestant 
world. Then division was justified and advocated. It 
stalked abroad with brazen face through the church of 
God, and claimed to represent the will and the wisdom 
of the Father. Along with this false claim was an ugly 
progeny born of this evil mother and perpetuating her 
character. They were known, and justly so, as hatred, 
envy, jealousy, distrust, rivalry, deceit and selfishness. 
But now no plea is so popular as the plea for union ; and, 
though division still exists, the wisest and best men are 
deploring it and laboring for its destruction. They not 
only pronounce it the gigantic error of Christendom, but 



RETROSPECT 281 

call it a sin in the sight of both God and man. And so 
it is, as the blindest must see in the light of facts like 
the following: In a small district in one of our greatest 
States there are 662 inhabitants, and they have but one 
school, but eight churches. In another territory in a 
near-by and great State there are 1,393 inhabitants, and 
nine Protestant churches, but no resident preacher. And, 
if possible, it is even worse on the foreign field. So bad 
is it there that John R. Mott, an authority on this sub- 
ject, speaking before the Edinburgh Conference, said: 
"Gentlemen, if we have to confront this situation with 
a divided church, we will fall back defeated before we 
begin." 

But the tide at last is turning, and hope lights up the 
skies. A small machine can be wheeled in different 
directions often and easily, but when the machine is 
ponderous and complicated it requires skill, labor, time 
and patience to change it. The religious world is the 
most ponderous and complicated piece of machinery 
with which man has ever had to deal. About four hun- 
dred years ago this great machine was turned toward 
the freedom of the individual, and to-day every wrist is 
unfettered. Now it is headed toward the co-operation 
of all kindred spirits, as seen in labor and capital; hence 
the spirit of Christian union is almost universal. In 
Scotland, instead of twelve Presbyterian Churches, once 
called the "Split P.'s," there is now the United Church 
of Scotland. In Canada the theological schools of the 
Baptist, Presbyterian and Congregational Churches are 
trying to unite. In our own land the Cumberland Pres- 
byterians and the Presbyterian Church have united. The 
Presbyterian Churches North and South are working on 
the union problem, as are the Methodist Churches on 
opposite sides of Mason and Dixon's line. Union must 



282 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

come, for already man sees its righteousness, and is co- 
operating with God for its consummation. 

The question of Thomas Campbell in the ''Declara- 
tion and Address,'' now more than a hundred years ago, 
is being heard and heeded: ''Dearly beloved brethren, 
why should we deem it a thing incredible that the church 
of Christ in this highly favored country should resume 
that original unity, peace and purity which belong to its 
constitution, and constitute its glory?" Regarding the 
essentials of this union, he says: "Christ alone being 
the head, the center ; his word the rule ; an explicit belief 
of and manifest conformity to it in all things — the 
terms." And thus, from that day to this, these people 
have hoisted the banner of Prince Jesus, and called upon 
all Christians to rally round it and unite in him ; and for 
a rule of faith and practice they have held up his Book 
to take the place of the rules written by men. 

Other items might be added to these twelve, such as 
the restoration of the ordinances of baptism and the Sup- 
per to their original places, the discarding of human 
names for the names of the Book, etc., and even then 
the strength of the plea might be summed up in a single 
sentence : The restoration of the New Testament church, 
as the power lying back of this great movement. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

Prospect. 

A Glorious Picture — Dangers: i. Crystalization, 2. Com- 
promise, 3. False Tests of Fellowship, 4. Ignoring 
True Tests of Fellowship, 5. The Childless 
Church, Duties: 1, Advertisement, 2, 
Indoctrination, 3. Co-operation, 4. 
Consecration, 5. Loyalty, 

We come now to the close of this study with a glance 
into the future, and we note a few of the things revealed 
in this vision: 

A GLORIOUS PICTURE. 

It is the result of the work of a hundred years — 
ample time to test any religious movement, especially 
when that hundred years is the nineteenth century. 
This has been a period of marvelous achievements. In 
the intellectual, social, scientific and religious worlds it 
has had no equal. God has wrought wonders during this 
time. He has almost made the world over. Natural 
forces have been brought from their hiding-places and 
harnessed in the service of man, working revolutions in 
the world of thought, commerce and industry. But 
Christianity has kept pace with these onward strides. 
Never was the presence of our Christ more manifest, 
and never were his stately steppings more stately. 

*'Out of the shadows of night 
The world is rolling into light; 
It is daybreak everywhere." 

Near the beginning of this century we behold one 
lone man in an ''upper room" in the home of a modest 

283 



28 i THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

farmer — Mr. Welch — near Washington, Pa. This man 
— Thomas Campbell — a cultured, consecrated Presby- 
terian preacher, with his heart bleeding over divided 
Christendom, was writing ''A Declaration and Address,'' 
which was submitted to a group of sympathizing friends 
in a rural community. These good men liked it, and on 
Sept. 7, 1809, they decided to print it and give it to all 
men. It proved to be good seed in good soil, and has 
yielded a harvest of which only Jehovah could be the 
Author. On May 4, 181 1, Brush Run — a church in the 
wilderness — was organized with thirty members. This 
little band, rejoicing in the freedom of a new-born faith, 
determined to share that joy with all who longed for 
religious liberty, and it looks as if their dream was to be 
realized. That church has had a marvelous growth. 
She has outstripped her religious neighbors, though old 
and rich and strong. Since 1850 live of the leading 
Protestant bodies have increased less than fivefold, while 
this church has had an increase of tenfold, and now has 
nine thousand preachers, thirteen thousand churches and 
more than a million and a half members. No such 
growth has been witnessed since the apostolic age. And 
it looks as if it would not be too much to expect that the 
twentieth century would see the New Testament church 
restored, and the whole world bowing at the feet of the 
Redeemer. And yet this is the century which Voltaire, 
the infidel Goliath of Europe, said would witness the 
blotting out of the name and faith of the Christian; the 
tim.e when IngersoU, his American successor, boasted 
that there would be more opera-houses than churches. 
"The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers 
take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his 
anointed, saying. Let us break their bands asunder, and 
cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the 



PROSPECT 285 

heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in de- 
rision'' (Ps. 2:3, 4). 

MENACING DANGERS. 

I. Crystalization, If it be true that history often 
repeats itself, we are now nearing a critical period in 
our progress. The story of religious movements is that, 
when about our age, and frequently much earlier, they 
lose sight of their true principles, and crystalize. The 
Lutheran movement is an example. The fundamental 
principles advocated by Luther, if followed out to their 
logical results, would have restored primitive Chris- 
tianity. The same is true of other reformations. It be- 
comes us, therefore, as students of history and friends 
of the Christ, to be warned into safety by such examples. 

We ought to escape this danger, for our plea is pro- 
gressive. We have insisted that revelation itself is a 
progressive development. It was Alexander Campbell 
who made clear the distinction between its three great 
dispensations — the Patriarchal, the Jewish and the Chris- 
tian — characterizing them as the starlight age, the moon- 
light age and the sunlight age. We have always taught 
that principles, like their Author, are eternal and un- 
changeable, but that methods necessarily change with the 
steps of progress. Truth is one and the same always 
and under all circumstances. The message we bear is 
vital and not mechanical. We have no creed but the 
Christ, no book but the Bible, and our sole mission is to 
reproduce the church as it was in the beginning. We 
would not add to the long list of denominational 
churches, but would gather the good out of them all, and, 
under a single banner and a single name, would hurl 
them as a conquering host against the ramparts of sin, 
as the apostles did in the first century. 



286 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

2. Compromise, In Nehemiah we have a graphic 
picture of this danger, and are shown how to meet it 
(Neh. 2-6). The troubles of this Old Testament re- 
former assumed three phases. When he first began to 
rebuild the walls of Jerusalem in order to restore the 
worship and work of God's people, his enemies were 
bitter in their opposition. The prophet armed his men 
and ordered them to continue the work. And, despite 
the opposition, the walls of the city and the temple were 
restored. Violent opposition having failed, they next 
resorted to ridicule, one of the most effective weapons 
of an enemy. They said the wall erected was a farce ; it 
was so frail that even a fox passing over it would break 
it down. But, like force, this also failed. And next 
they offered a compromise, the most deadly of all dopes. 
''Come down inio one of the villages of the plain of Ono, 
and let us take counsel together.'' Nehemiah answered: 
'T am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down; 
why should the work cease while I leave it and come 
down to you ?" He would not parley for a moment with 
his foes. The battle was on and there was to be no truce. 

Could a parallel be more striking? Are we not 
striving to rebuild spiritual Jerusalem, and give to men 
again the church in its primitive purity? Have we not 
had to contend with force and ridicule ? And now, when 
we are numerous and strong, are we not being flattered 
as one of the leading ''evangelical" denominations ? And^ 
alas ! is it not true that there are those among us who 
are ready to be classed as a denomination? Do they not 
speak of "our denomination," and "our church," and 
"immersion baptism"? Does not all this mean compro- 
mise? And would not compromise be as ruinous with 
us as it would have been with Nehemiah? The compro- 
mise of truth means sure and deserved ruin. 



PROSPECT 287 

3. False tests of fellowship. Fellowship means a 
participation in common; an association of persons on 
mutual and friendly terms. All Christians share in com- 
mon the great salvation of our Christ. They are in 
fellowship with him, and should be in fellowship with 
each other. Therefore the terms of salvation and the 
terms of fellowship must be one and the same. It must 
not be more difficult to enter heaven than to enter the 
church. Faith in the Christ and obedience to him are 
the conditions of salvation, and they are the sole and 
sufficient tests of fellowship. Him that is weak in the 
faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations (Rom. 
14:1). Many Christians then and now have peculiar 
scruples and prejudices, mainly as the result of educa- 
tion or environment, and Paul teaches that these pecul- 
iarities must not be made tests of fellowship. At that 
time they generally consisted in matters of meats and 
drinks and ceremonies, but now they usually pertain to 
musical instruments in the song service and methods of 
work. All such questions are to be settled in the court 
of expediency. "All things are lawful, but all things 
are not expedient" (i Cor. 6: 12). Questions like these 
are not to be settled by a 'Thus saith the Lord,'' but by 
sanctified common sense, permeated by a loving for- 
bearance. Had such questions been made tests of fel- 
low^ship in Paul's day, the church would not have been 
one; and if we make of them such tests, w^e must divide. 

A vital principle is involved here. As the glory of 
Christianity is in the blending of justice and mercy, so 
the glory of the church is in the blending of unity and 
freedom. Catholicism has union, as has no other church 
in Christendom, but it has it at the sacrifice of freedom. 
We want union, but if we can get it only with the loss 
of liberty, the price is too great. But this is not the 



288 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

price. We can have union in faith and liberty in opinion, 
and when we have these as the early Christians had 
them, there will be no divisions among us over questions 
of expediency, and the church of that day w^ill be repro- 
duced in the church of our day. 

4. Ignoring true tests of fellowship. Here is the 
greatest danger which confronts the Restoration move- 
ment. That this danger exists is manifest to all who 
have eyes to see, and it is foolish and cowardly for us, 
ostrich-like, to pretend that no such peril exists. 

We are told by would-be leaders that grave mistakes 
have been made, and they must be corrected speedily, or 
all is lost. It is said that the first mistake of the fathers 
was in thinking that Christian union would come by the 
destruction of denominationalism, instead of by a broader 
and more liberal denominationalism. We are told that 
two other fundamental mistakes grew out of this first 
one: first, in regard to the conditions of membership, 
and, second, as regards the basis of union; all of which 
means that the gospel plan of salvation and the BilVie 
basis of Christian union are not in harmony with ^'ad- 
vanced thought," and will have to be modified. And 
when reduced to its last analysis, it means that our bap- 
tism is the chief stone of offence, and that we can not 
reasonably hope to convert Christendom to our narrow 
position on this point. These people become sentimental 
and emotional while exhorting us, and in their spasms of 
liberality they gush over everybody and everything, and 
tell us that "one church is as good as another;" that it 
really makes no difference what one believes "if only his 
heart is right," and that we must not be too tenacious 
about the inspiration of the Book, the deity of the Lord 
or the miracles of the Bible. In other v/ords, they 
would have us fall into line and take our place as one 



PROSPECT 289 

of the great denominations of the land. The sweet 
phrase, "Our denomination/' is often on their tongue. 

But we are not, in the true sense, a "denomination." 
Circumstances against which we have protested, but were 
unable to control, have forced us to appear to be one, 
and our enemies and the newspapers and the dictionaries 
have so called us. The primitive church was not a de- 
nomination, and therefore we are not, for our sole pur- 
pose is to reproduce that church. That church, in its 
conflict with heathenism, was often so regarded, but the 
contention was false. Neither are we a "church" in the 
ordinary use of that word, much less the church, or the 
''Disciples' Church.'' We are a religious movement 
within the church, rather than a denominational church. 
We stand for an idea rather than an organization — that 
glorious idea of world-wide Christianity which no de- 
nomination can ever fully present. 

Surely we are not willing to abandon this magnificent 
ideal, the very heart and core of our existence, and the 
secret of our power, for the sake of a place, however 
honorable, among the denominations about us. 

5. The childless church. This danger is not peculiar 
to us, but threatens all religious bodies alike. In the 
early ministry of this writer a little girl saw him bap- 
tize a friend of hers in the Missouri River. It was a 
shocking sight to the timid child, and she asked her 
mother why it was. The mother told her that the man 
was going to be good and join the church, and that all 
such people were baptized. The child said nothing more 
about it till the next day, but she had been pondering 
over it. Finally, when she had solved the problem, she 
said: "Mother, I think Til just join the Sunday-school/' 

We do not underestimate the worth of the Bible 
school. Perhaps no agency to-day is fraught with 



290 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

greater good to the church of God. But it is like every 
other good — easily perverted. Even our Saviour may be 
the Rock of salvation, or the rock of offense, and his 
gospel may be the savor of life unto life, or of death 
unto death. And so our Bible schools are thronged with 
thousands old enough to become Christians, who do not 
attend church, and are not expected or urged by their 
parents and teachers to do so. And there are other 
thousands, generally the young, who have been baptized, 
and among them are many Bible-school teachers, who 
usually attend only the Bible school, and are seldom 
seen at the preaching service of the Lord's table. Look- 
ing over the average audience of to-day, we see the aged 
and the middle-aged, the grandparents and the parents, 
but not the children. The old-fashioned family pev/, 
with the old and the young, the large and the small, 
alas ! is a thing of the past. Here is the childless church. 
And what can we expect of this church but, as in the 
case of the childless family, utter and unavoidable ex- 
tinction in the near future? The army, the school and 
the family must be constantly recruited from the young, 
or time will extinguish them, and the same is true of 
the church. Here is a problem worthy of the best 
thought and the best effort of all who love our Lord and 
his church : How can we induce the Bible school to at- 
tend the preaching and communion service? 

URGENT DUTIES. 

I. Advertisement. There is no religious body in the 
land of anything like our numerical strength so little 
known as ours, and there is none other, considering our 
plea, which the world so much needs to know. And no 
one is so much to blame for this condition of things as 
ourselves. Our conduct here is not only shortsighted- 



PROSPECT 291 

ness, but it is sin. If God has raised us up for a special 
mission to men, ought we not to be more dihgent in ad- 
vertising this mission? Allusion here is not to the 
preaching of the gospel, for all see the importance of 
that, but to such advertisement as is seen among Uni- 
tarians, Adventists and Scientists. They flood the world 
with literature from their best writers, so that all who 
desire information regarding them can get it without 
money and without price. Money wisely spent in this 
work would bring large results. 

2. Indoctrination. If our mission is to call the church 
back to Christ in name, in doctrine, in ordinances and 
in life, as the panacea for her ills, then our people must 
know it in its details in order that they miay the more 
eflfectually propagate it among others. 

It is estimated by those who have studied the ques- 
tion that not more than 25 per cent, of our people under- 
stand our plea. If this is true, it is impossible to fulfill 
this mission without some effective plan for the educa- 
tion of the other 75 per cent. They must be made to 
understand this sacred mission, or they will never appre- 
ciate it and work for it. In our early history this was not 
true. Then not less than 75 per cent, understood it, and 
could make others understand it. Our preachers preached 
it, and our Bible-school teachers taught it. It was a 
common thing then to find a well-thumbed copy of the 
New Testament in the pocket of the merchant, the law- 
yer, the doctor and the farmer, and they were able and 
anxious to give a reason for the hope within them ( i Pet. 
3: 15). And it ought to be so now. The unconverted 
seeking the Saviour should not be left to roam at large 
through the Bible, but should have condensed informa- 
tion compiled by the most capable men among us. And 
the new convert should have similar instruction, teach- 



292 THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

ing him how to grow ''into the measure of the stature of 
the fulness of Christ'' (Eph. 4:13). Then they would 
be "no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried 
about with every wind of doctrine" (v. 14), but stalwart 
soldiers of the cross. They would not be like the bright 
girl who, when asked what she believed, answered: 'T 
believe what my church believes/' And when asked 
what her church believed, she said : "My church believes 
what I believe." And when asked what they both be- 
lieved, she said: "We both believe the same thing." 
Such a girl, had her teachers done their duty, would 
never have been caught in this embarrassing dilemma. 
And if our teachers are faithful, we will soon cease to 
hear our people, parrot-like, repeating the old, thread- 
worn phrase, "One church is as good as another." If 
this is true, then no good reason can be given for our 
existence, and the sooner we become a "disappearing 
brotherhood" the better. 

3. Co-operation. The fact that ours is a movement 
within the church for the restoration of its former unity 
ought to make clear our relationship to all other fol- 
lowers of the Lord. We are not to regard them as 
enemies, but as allies, anxious to see the Christ supreme 
in his exaltation, and his religion universal in its sway. 
This was the position of Mr. Campbell. Narrow and 
bitter critics existed then as now, and they accused him 
of compromising the plea by admitting that there were 
Christians other than those immediately connected with 
his work. Replying to one of these, he said : 

"But who is a Christian? I answer, every one that 
believes in his heart that Jesus of Nazareth is the Mes- 
siah, the Son of God, repents of his sins and obeys Him 
in all things according to his measure of knowledge of 
His will." 



PROSPECT 295 

In the great heart of this noble man there was room 
for the appreciation of everything good in other rehgious 
bodies, and he was ready to co-operate with them in 
every good word and work, when he could do so with- 
out the compromise of principle. And we must do the 
same thing for two reasons: first, because by such joint 
action many things can be accomplished which would be 
impossible were we to act separately; and, second, be- 
cause in such co-operation we learn to appreciate and 
love each other, a most important essential to the perfect 
union for which w^e plead. Students struggling together 
in the same classes, and soldiers battling arm in arm in 
the same command, form the strongest and most tender 
friendships known among men. 

4. Cofisecration, A people with the best plea in the 
world ought to be the people of the best practice. As 
the world looks upon us it should take knowledge of us 
that we ''have been with Jesus'' (Acts 4:13). Our 
religious lives should be deepened and sweetened day by 
day. Our logic and our lives must be harmonized; our 
doctrine and our devotion must move on a common 
plane. Our logic and doctrine have been irresistible and 
unanswerable, and they have wrought wonders for our 
God. But with shamefacedness we must acknowledge 
that we have not always been lovely and kind in their 
advocacy. The world is learning to love the plea; now 
we must make it love the people. And when both are 
loved, the walls of separation will crumble, and the 
gates of opposition will open, and our King will again 
come into his own. 

5. Loyalty, Unwavering allegiance to our Lord must 
possess us in every word and act. "Lord, what wilt thou 
have me to do?" the question of the greatest man ever 
produced by Christianity, must be the supreme question 



294: THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT 

of our lives. Imagine a great battle with a miHion men 
engaged. The commander has surveyed the field and 
assigned to each division its place in the struggle. But 
in the course of the long, hard conflict the lines often 
changed, and when a lull came and he would re-form 
them, it was found that nine-tenths were out of position. 
At the center — the key of the position — the remnant of 
the one hundred thousand placed there, alone are in line. 
The shattered columns must be rallied and re-formed, 
and the battle must be renewed. How shall it be done? 
Must the little band at the center be withdrawn and 
aligned with the great masses who have lost position? 
This would be the simplest and easiest thing to do, and, 
if left to a popular vote of the army, it would likely be 
done. But this would mean ruin, and so the commander 
orders all to re-form on the original line at the center. 
Even so our great Commander (Isa. 55:4) has se- 
lected the battlefield with Satan, and assigned to His 
army its position. But in the long struggle of two thou- 
sand years there have been many changes, and thousands 
are out of line to-day. How shall His army be re- 
formed? There is but one safe way: rally all around 
the banner of the King, and line them up with those who 
still occupy the original line of battle. Because these are 
few, this will be called bigoted, narrow and uncharitable, 
but these must stand firm. There must be no wavering, 
amd no compromise. They must be loving, but loyal. 
The honor of their Leader, the safety of themselves, and 
the salvation of the world are all at stake, and they must 
stand firm. 



NOV 19 1813 



